Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kan: Kanashii hen
by WOLFEDEN Studios
Summary: After Kai Normal life has returned to Hinamizawa. Keiichi and his friends are enjoying their new life and celebrate with a new kind of club activity. However, when Keiichi receives disturbing news, he is thrust back into the Hell he thought he left behind
1. Chapter 1: Return

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

Kanashii-hen (The Sorrowful Chapter)

When a story ends, is it really over?

What happens to the characters?

When a story ends, can it be really be over?

What happens to the character's hearts?

When a story ends, can it begin again?

Chapter 1: Return

Part A

I heard voices all around me. They were laughing at me. They were laughing at the vulnerable state I was in. I was defenseless. They could do anything they wanted to me and they could get away with it. I couldn't even put up a fight. The second they saw me in this state, I was as good as dead.

I heard a voice calling out to me, amongst the laughter.

"Kei-chan!"

I opened my sleepy eyes. I was in my classroom. Chie-sensei just finished her lecture. The school day was finally over. I didn't get much sleep the night before, so I took it upon myself to make up for that lost time in class. It felt great, but something was amiss. I could sense it. I wasn't about to let my guard down that easily, despite being a tad bit groggy.

"Yeah, what?" I replied to the voice behind me.

"Get over here! We gotta discuss something!"

"Fine."

I looked around me. Nothing out of the ordinary. This was the perfect moment for a certain mischievous little princess to pull a fast one. All the kids were leaving the classroom and nobody was hovering around me. My desk didn't have any traps set. I should've realized, however, that I shouldn't have been focusing on my desk so much.

I stood up and turned my body to face the person who was talking to me. When I tried to put my foot forward, it wouldn't move. When I tried to move again, I fell flat on my stomach with the chair falling onto my back. I yelped at the pain and gritted my teeth. I knew exactly who was responsible for this.

"S-Satoko…!"

"Oh ho ho ho ho!" That triumphant laugh knifed at my eardrums. The golden haired demon stood above me with her hand at her mouth. "I can't believe you fell for such a simple trap, Keiichi-san! You're pathetic!"

"I'm just tired…that's all! It wouldn't be a problem if I wasn't so…!"

"Oh ho ho ho! Stupid Keiichi!"

"You little brat!"

A hand patted my head. It was a small hand and it was nursing the wrong area, but it comforted the pain I felt in my stomach.

"…There, there." Rika-chan smiled at me as she petted me.

"Thanks, Rika-chan…"

"Keiichi-kun! Are you alright?" Rena knelt down to my level. She untied my foot which was tied around the legs of my chair. At least two people cared about my condition.

"I'm fine, Rena." I smiled weakly at her. I really didn't need to be putting up with Satoko's pranks in this state, but I should've known better. Satoko would kick you when you're down if it meant defeating you.

"Don't go easy on him, you two!" Mion stood next to Satoko with her arms crossed. She was snickering at me. "And you, Kei-chan, you're getting sloppy! Just because we're finished with all that stuff last month, don't think you can take a break!"

"Yeesh! Give me a break, Mion!"

She laughed. She helped me up to my feet and helped me pull my desk and chair over to the back of the classroom where we held our club activities. After all that was settled, our club president meandered over to her student locker and began perusing through her collection of games.

"Now," she muttered to herself. "What kind of game shall we play today?"

Rena clapped her hands together excitingly. "Let's pick something we haven't played in a while! I can't remember the last time we played Old Geezer!"

"Yeah!" Satoko chimed in. "Pick something where we can go all out! I have to humiliate Keiichi-san one more time before we go home!"

"…I'm fine with anything," Rika said with her cute smile.

"Hmm." Mion bent over on her knees and looked through her locker from top to bottom. It looked like she was having trouble finding a game to play.

I peered over at Rena. Her face was slightly red. She was looking at Mion's backside.

"Hauuu! Mii-chan's skirt is so cute today!"

Mion stopped searching and looked over her shoulder at Rena. I knew what she was thinking, and I definitely knew what Rena was going to say next.

"You can't take her skirt home with you, Rena!" I rubbed her head roughly, with a grin on my face.

"But it's so cute…"

"I personally wouldn't mind taking it myself!" I shot a dazzling smile at Mion.

"Oh really?" Mion stood up and placed a hand on her hip. "I have another one just like this if you want it, Kei-chan. But I didn't know you were into wearing girls' clothing!"

"T-That's not what I meant!"

Rena's face turned bright red now. "Hauuuu! Keiichi-kun in Mii-chan's skirt!" Her eyes were closed and she was swooning over the idea. I didn't want to think about the horrible fantasy that was going on in her mind!

"Stop it!"

"I knew Keichii-san was weird, but I didn't know he enjoyed wearing clothes like that! You think he likes to wear girls' underwear too?" Satoko cackled again.

I looked to Rika for some support but she simply smiled and patted my head again. "There, there!"

Mion held her stomach because she was laughing so hard. Her laugh stopped suddenly. A wicked smile curled across her lips. Her hand held her chin and she was looking at me with such an evil leer.

"W-What?" I seriously felt afraid. Whenever Mion got that look in her eyes, it never meant well for me!

"Well," she began, placing her hand back on her hip. Her eyes were closed and that grin was still on her face. "Having looked through the club's inventory of games, and can't find anything exciting enough to play, I am officially postponing the club activity!"

Satoko pouted. "That's not fair!"

Rena and Rika-chan didn't look happy at all. I, on the other hand, was as happy as could be. I couldn't participate in a club activity when I was sleepy. I would be a sitting duck if I tried to!

"We will instead have the activity tomorrow, on Sunday, in Okinomiya! You all better get a good rest tonight!" Mion walked up to me. She poked at my chest with her index finger. "You're gonna need it…!"

I gulped hard. My happiness was brutally murdered by those words. What the hell did Mion have up her sleeve this time? What was she going to make us do? Most importantly, what was the punishment going to be like?

"Club president!" Satoko raised her hand. "What'll we be doing in Okinomiya?"

"Oh, don't you worry about that, my dear Satoko! All will be revealed in time!"

"What's the punishment going to be?" I blurted out. I regretted saying that the second it escaped my mouth.

Mion looked at me again with her serpentine eyes. "Just wait and see, Kei-chan! Just wait and see…"

We all left the school early. Mion left for Okinomiya to help her uncle at his store, while Satoko and Rika decided to go shopping. Rena asked if I wanted to come treasure hunting with her. My parents didn't need me for a while, and I didn't feel like going home anytime soon, so I accepted her request.

We passed through the fields and the woods of Hinamizawa. The air was as crisp as ever. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The wind kissed my face and caressed my body. The sound of the cicadas soothed my soul. While the sights and sounds were the same, the feel of the village was different. It was absent of any malicious presence. We had fought long and hard for this. After thousands of trials and tribulations, we could finally be at peace. Hinamizawa was ours now! Nobody could take this joy away from us! That was our reward.

We came to junkyard. Rena dived in and immediately began hunting for something "adowable." She clawed at trash and threw pipes, lumber, and rusty metal over her shoulder into another pile. It wasn't long until she spotted a target. When she saw what she was after, her face flushed and began to swoon.

"Hauuu! It's so cuuuuute!"

I looked at the rumble she was clawing at. I threw a few more pieces of lumber away and saw what she was referring to. It was a small teddy bear, with a little bit of dirt on his nose. A little red scarf was around his neck. "Is this it, Rena?"

"I want to take him home with meeeeee!"

I laughed. I loved to see Rena so carefree like this. This cute mode scared me the most when she activated it during club activities or when I was her target, not to mention when she tried to steal things as well. We could be walking through a toy store, where anything could be cute, and she would try to rob the store blind! Luckily, she was never caught for theft.

"Do you want this, Rena?"

"Yes! I do! I really do!"

I examined the pile the little bear was trapped in. He was stuck in there pretty deep. The lumber and some of the other debris around it looked too heavy for just two people to move. "Looks like we're gonna need something to break some of this stuff up."

"Oh! I'll be right back!" Rena scampered off towards the trailer, nearly falling over herself because she was so excited.

This seemed very familiar to me. This reminded me when I was visited the junkyard for the first time with Rena. She scared the crap out of me when she had a large hatchet in her hands, looking down at me. This time, I was prepared.

Rena returned with the same tool I was just thinking about. I took it from her and quickly got to work.

Crash! Crash! Crack!

I swung the hatchet down in slow but strong swings. I broke large pieces of lumber into small portions. Rena and I moved them out of the way when I was taking a break. I dented large pipes, slashed more wood, and cut through pieces of old furniture. This thing was heavy! How did Rena carry it with just one hand? I didn't think she was that strong!

After twenty minutes of breaking, cutting, and removing debris, the teddy bear could finally be rescued from his prison. Rena seized the bear and smothered him against her chest. I desperately wanted to be that bear. She dusted his nose off and his body, and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Keiichi-kun! You saved him!"

"Hehe!" I stuck out my chest and flexed my bicep at her. "Not a problem! I guess this means we had a successful operation!"

"Yeah! Oh, wait!" She knelt down, still clutching the teddy bear. She saw something else hidden beneath the debris. "There's another one!"

"Another bear? Seriously?"

"Yeah! You have to save him too!" She looked at me with these big watery eyes. I thought she would never forgive me if I didn't rescue this other bear. She might've killed me too if I didn't!

I didn't need the hatchet anymore. I put it aside and stuck my hands into the rubble. I clawed and clawed until I freed the second the bear. It looked identical to the one Rena was holding, but this one had a green scarf around his little neck. For some reason, it made my heart feel warm and made me smile at it. It really was cute. This must be how Rena felt whenever she saw something adorable.

"You saved him! You saved him!" She smiled at me brightly. She patted my shoulder.

"It was no problem!" I held the bear out to her. "Here! I'm sure he can use another friend!"

"Thank you, Keiichi-kun, but I don't want to steal what shouldn't be mine!" She looked into my eyes for a moment.

"What do you mean? Don't you want it?"

She shook her head. "It isn't mine. I'm sure you can make someone else happy with him! You already made me happy!"

I didn't understand what she was getting at. "You want me to give it to somebody else? Who?"

"Ahaha!" Rena picked up her hatchet and ran back to her trailer. After she returned it to her toolbox, she came back to me. "Come on, Keiichi-kun! The sun's going down! We should be going home!"

I was still holding the bear as we walked away from the junkyard, unsure of what to do with it. I tried two more times to give it to Rena, but she turned me down. She kept saying someone else needed it more than she did. She was content with the first one I retrieved for her. She was playing with it as we walked. She spoke to it and told it to thank me for saving it. I figured she could be even happier with this second teddy bear, but she kept insisting that another person would want it more. It made no sense at all to me. Rena never turned down anything cute before.

We finally came to my house. I offered to walk her home, but she said she would be fine making the trip alone.

"Make sure you bring that bear with you to the club activity tomorrow!" She called out to me as she ran off.

What was so special about this bear? Why did she want me to bring this thing to the club meeting? Rena was always a peculiar girl, but this stumped me big time. Did she want me to give it to somebody else in the club? To Rika, or Satoko? Rika never really showed much attention to something like this. Satoko was still a little girl, despite her acting older than she was. Maybe I would give to her. She could use something like this. Her mean uncle was finally gone, but she still missed her NiiNii, her real NiiNii. Maybe this could hold her over until Satoshi came back, whenever that would be.

I entered my home and greeted my mom. My dad was painting in his workshop so I didn't disturb him. He was always happy when he was in a creative mood, but he quickly becomes irritable when he loses his idea. I didn't want to be the guy who did that!

I had dinner with them later on. Afterwards, I took a quick shower and curled up in my bed. The teddy bear I pulled out of the junkyard was sitting on my desk looking at me. I watched it and a small smile filled my face. The person who would this bear would be really happy, I hoped. The thought of the club activity forced its way to the front of my mind now. My smile turned into a grimace. I was afraid of what Mion had in store for us. She rarely postponed things. Knowing how difficult the regular club activities were, I could only begin to imagine how hard this next challenge was going to be.

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of my mother calling me down for breakfast. After eating breakfast, I was ready to go! Nothing was going to stop me today! I was going to win the activity and make Mion play the punishment game! It was about time someone gave her a taste of her own medicine! I was on a bad losing streak, but this would be the day when that all changed. I was going to win!

The phone rang. My mom answered it. She called me over to take it from her.

"Hello?" I answered.

_"Kei-chan!"_

"Mion? What's up? It's not every day I get a call from you!"

_"Ahaha! I just called to tell you of the location of the club activity today!"_

"Okinomiya right?"

_ "Yes! We'll be having our activity at the baseball field in Okinomiya!"_

"The baseball field? We're gonna be playing baseball?"

_"I didn't say that, Kei-chan!" I heard her snicker. "You remember where the field is right? Get over there as soon as possible! You better be ready!"_ She hung up.

"Oh boy," I said to myself. "I don't know if I like the sound of this…!"

I got dressed, readied my bike, and was about to go when I remembered the teddy bear on my desk. I took it and hopped back on my bike. I unlocked it from the chain I had on it and peddled onward. I peddled to my destiny! I wasn't going to lose!

Okinomiya was quite busy by the time I got there. Cars were passing by, people entered and exited the various shops and restaurants, and I could see a bunch of kids running in the direction of the baseball field. They were all kids from my class. I saw Tomita-kun and Okimura-kun, and bunch of other kids. Most of the kids were members of the Hinamizawa Fighters, while the others were just regular kids from Chie-sensei's class. Were we going to play against a team today like last time we were here? Mion was unclear about her motives, but it seemed like we weren't going to play any old baseball game.

When I arrived at the field, the kids were sitting on the sidelines and in the dugouts, waiting for the spectacle to begin. I chained my bike up near some other ones and proceeded onto the field. I looked around for Mion and the gang, but didn't see them anywhere. Tomita-kun and Okimura-kun spotted me and cheered for me. I waved back and saluted to them.

"Hey, Keiichi-san!" Satoko called out to me. She was in a dugout opposite the other dugout where the kids were hanging out in. I ran over to her.

"Hey, Satoko! What's up, everybody?" I now saw Mion, Rika, Satoko, and Rena sitting on the bench. They were all in their casual clothes like me. I looked at Rena and Rika. How were they going to play baseball in their dresses? Satoko, Mion, and I were all set, but I didn't know if they were going to be able to play in these clothes.

"Kei-chan!" Mion stood up and punched my shoulder. "Glad you didn't chicken out!"

"I'm always ready, Mion! Don't you worry about that!" I winked at her.

She laughed. "You better be!"

"So what're we doing today? I wonder!" Rena smiled with her eyes closed.

"I can't wait to defeat Keiichi-san! His tears of defeat will make me so happy! Oh ho ho ho ho!"

"Shut up!" I flicked Satoko's forehead.

"Waahhhh!" She began to cry fake tears. "Keiichi-san hit me! I hate you! I hate you!"

"Hauuuuuu! Satako-chan's crying! I want to take her home!"

"Make Keiichi-san pay and I'll let Rena-san take me home! Waaaah!" More tears streamed from her eyes.

I waved my hands in front of me furiously. "H-Hey wait, R-Rena! This is a big misunderstanding! I didn't-"

WAM! POW! BANG!

I fell to the dirt of the dugout. My face was throbbing. I was paralyzed by Rena's surprise punch attack…or was it her knee? After all this time that I knew her, I never truly figured out what she hits with. She was tightly hugging Satoko, twirling her around in the dugout. When she stopped spinning, Satoko looked at me with a condescending smile. You win this round, I told myself.

Mion stepped out onto the pitcher's mound. She raised her hands in the air and told all of the spectators to be quiet. After the kids were silenced, Mion stuck out her chest proudly and explained what today's event involved.

"Today, we will be holding the toughest club activity ever spawned! As this event is the toughest one yet, it will also carry the harshest punishment!"

All of the children ooh'd and ah'd loudly. I saw Tomita-kun and Okimura-kun shaking in their seats. Were they worried about what would happen to me if I had to face the punishment? Such great kids, worrying about the safety and welfare of their role model! Too bad I wasn't going to give Mion the chance to embarrass me this time!

"Today's event is the Deadly Danger Homerun Faceoff!" Mion flung her arms into the air again.

All of the kids began to cheer.

"A home run faceoff? What the hell is that?"

Part B

Rena looked at Mion's body language. She knew this was going to be quite the challenge. "What is it? What is it, I wonder?"

"Each participant," Mion continued, "will be given ten chances to hit homeruns in two separate rounds. The person with the lowest score in the first round will begin the second round. The participant with the most homeruns by the end of the game is the winner! The participant with lowest amount of homeruns by the end will have to play the punishment game!" Mion scurried back to the dugout where we were sitting in and retrieved a small brown bag from underneath the bench. Nobody else saw the bag. We all had looks of inquiry as to what could be in it. Knowing Mion, it had to be something awful!

She raised the bag over her head for everyone to see.

"Within this bag lies the punishment for the loser! For the record, I have no idea what the contents are! However, I like to thank my uncle for providing me with this lovely item, whatever it is! So, sit back and enjoy the show!"

The children cheered once more.

Mion placed the bag down on the ground. "Our participants for this home run faceoff are as follows: I, Sonozaki Mion, the club president! Ryuugu Rena! Houjou Satoko! Furude Rika! And last but not least, Maebara Keiichi!"

We all went onto the field and waved back at our fans. Tomita-kun and Okimura-kun looked conflicted. They cheered Rika-chan's name and Satoko's name, but quickly switched back to cheering my name when I glared at them. The traitors!

"And now!" Mion and pointed to the fence near the dugout we were just sitting in moments before. "Introducing our special guest pitcher: Kyousuke Irie-sensei!"

Irie appeared in his Hinamizawa Fighter's uniform, carrying a heavy bucket of baseballs. He smiled in his traditional goofy fashion and waved to everybody.

"Brining up the rear is our special guest nurse and cheerleader: Sonozaki Shion!"

Shion jogged to catch up to Irie. She was in her casual skirt, smiling away. She had a couple of metal baseball bats over her shoulder with a pitching glove hooked on the end of one. She saw me and blew me a kiss. I blushed, while Mion stamped her foot and cussed at her. Shion, in reply, stuck her tongue out at her sister and giggled.

"A-Anyway" Mion recomposed herself and faced her audience one last time. "We will begin shortly, so hang tight! Refreshments will be passed out to you all in a few minutes!"

Mion stepped off of the mound and approached me, Rena, Rika, and Satoko.

"Mii-chan, you were amazing!" Rena smiled brightly at her.

"Heh! No biggy!"

Irie and Shion came up to us. He dropped the bucket of baseballs next to one of the bleachers. He was sweating. "Man! These things are heavy! Why didn't you help me, Shion-chan?"

"It's the man's duty to do the heavy lifting right?" Shion laughed. "I'm a very delicate girl you know!"

"You could have helped me somewhat…"

"Don't expect too much from Shion, Manager!" Mion crossed her arms and scoffed at her sister. "She's always been lazy and weasels her way out of everything!"

"Is that so?" Shion dropped the bat and glove. She walked up to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. She pushed her chest into mine tenderly. Her slender finger stroked my skin; it made my body quiver. She buried her face into my neck. I could feel her warm breath massaging me. I might be mistaken, but I think I felt her lips graze my skin. I'd be lying if I said I didn't love every minute of this!

"Kei-chan…?" She whispered to me.

"Y-Y-Yeah?"

"Will you take me out later…? I've missed you sooooo much…"

Mion grabbed Shion by her collar and threw her off of me. "S-Stay away from him!"

"Haha! What's wrong, sis? Kei-chan's a big boy! He can go out on a date with me!"

"He'd never go out with a sleazy bitch like you!" I could see the vein pulsing in Mion's forehead.

"Haha! Really? Then why did Kei-chan give me this cute little teddy bear?"

My eyes widened when I saw her holding the teddy bear in her arms. I was holding onto it ever since I left my house.

Mion stared at it, and then she looked to Shion, and then to me several times.

"Look at him!" Shion stuck the bear right in her face. She was rubbing salt into Mion's wound. "Isn't he adorable? Too bad you didn't get one! You see, Kei-chan and I are lovers!"

I blushed once more and shook my head swiftly. "N-No! That bear wasn't meant for you! Give it back!"

"Then who's it for? Surely you weren't going to give it to Sis, right? She doesn't even like things like this!"

I seized the bear from Shion's grasp. I handed the bear to Mion. She was astonished and her eyes were locked on its face. She didn't move a muscle as I was finishing this dispute.

"It's Mion's! I was going to give to her as a thank you for all the things she's done for me!" I said strongly, narrowing my eyes at Shion.

"Kei-chan…" I heard Mion mutter.

Shion scratched at her cheek. "I see. Well then!" She clapped her hands together and smiled at me. "I wish you the best of luck with her! You have my permission!" She ran off to the pile of refreshments near home plate to begin passing them out to the audience.

Mion hid her face behind the teddy bear and she was shivering. I didn't really understand what Shion meant by "permission," but it seemed to hit Mion pretty hard.

"That Shion," Irie laughed. "She's one of a kind isn't she, Maebara-san? Now if only she could cheer you guys on in that maid's outfit I picked out!" His goofy smile conquered his face. "That would make my heart melt!"

I watched as he skipped after Shion to help pass out the refreshments. I stared at him with a gigantic question mark over my head. Irie had to be the weirdest person I've ever met in all of Hinamizawa. He had a charm to him though. He was a great guy, but he was just very eccentric.

"I guess we should start the activity soon huh, Mion?" I tried to ease the tension made after Shion arrived.

"Yeah, let's do that." Mion was still hiding behind the bear. She sounded kind of happy, even though she was fuming at Shion just a minute ago. "Thank you for this…Keiichi. I'll treasure it always…"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I hope you like it." I kicked sheepishly at the ground for a second. "C'mon," I took her hand. "Let's go start the game!"

"Y-Yeah…"

The Deadly Danger Home Run Faceoff started ten minutes later. Irie donned his baseball cap and took the mound. He practiced his pitching with a member from his team. As he readied himself, the club members and I took the initiative to prepare as well.

Rena played around with the grip on her bat. She tried different stances to see which was best for her.

Satoko swung wildly at the air. There was a lot of passion behind each one of her swings. I think she was imagining her NiiNii watching her, cheering her on.

Rika didn't swing her bat at all. She sat on the bleachers talking to someone, but there was no one around her. Was she talking to herself? I never saw Rika do that before.

Mion was swinging her bat like I was doing. Nice and steady swings, with not much force behind them. These were practice swings after all. You didn't want to burn up your energy before a big game. You do that, you doom yourself from getting a hit.

While I was swinging my own bat, I felt a set of eyes on me, watching everything I did. I looked to the bleachers. Shion was watching me. She was holding a container of juice bottles and snacks. She stopped passing out the refreshments to watch me swing. When she caught me looking at her, she shook her head and resumed her duty, acting as if nothing happened. It was really odd. It made me feel uncomfortable. I told myself she was probably just teasing me. She was doing one hell of a job.

After a little while of practicing, Irie was ready to go. He called up the first contestant, and his catcher repositioned himself behind home plate. Mion went first. It was her sworn duty as the club president to make an example for all of us. She donned a batting helmet, spat onto the ground, and dug into her batter's box. She raised her bat up and stared Irie down.

"Gimme your best shot!" she yelled.

The first pitch was like a bullet. It hurtled through the air towards Mion. It was a regular fastball; she could do it. He swung her bat. A loud metallic bang echoed all across the field. The ball flew up into space and crashed down to the earth like a meteor. I didn't see where it landed, but it had to be somewhere out into the faraway street.

"That the best you got, Manager?" Mion was getting excited. She tightened her grip on the bat and took up her stance again.

Irie fired ball after ball at Mion. He threw every type of pitch he knew, but they were no match for Mion's spirit and skill. By the end of her round, she had hit eight homeruns out of her ten pitches. I knew Mion was good at everything she did, but I didn't know she was this good! It was going to be hard to beat her score.

She left the batter's box, waving to her fans, even bowing in gratitude to them. She passed the helmet to Rena. Rena was nervous. She waddled to the box and got into a weird stance. I know she was my opponent, but I hoped she could hit at least a few homeruns. Irie threw the first pitch, it was a foul ball down the right line. The second ball came, Rena missed. She became more nervous now. She looked to me for something. I cheered her on; it was all I could do. She was a friend and she was also my rival, but I didn't want to see her fail in this first round.

Before the third pitch, Satoko ran up to Rena. She whispered something into her ear. Rena's face turned bright red and her eyes lit up. She focused on Irie. Her cute mode had been activated!

"What'd you say to her?" I asked Satoko.

She giggled. "I told her that if she can beat Mion in the next round, I'll make Rika where cat ears and a little tail!"

I knew where this was going. "You're so bad!" We high-fived each other.

Irie's third pitch closed in on Rena. Without even batting an eye, she clobbered it. With the remaining pitches, she hit them the exact same way. Irie was stunned after the final homerun. Rena skipped off of homeplate, twirling around in circles over to us. Her face was still red.

"Oh ho ho! Rena-san hit seven homeruns! Good job!"

Rena was breathing hard. "I-I-I'm taking Rika-chan home with meeeeeeeeee!" She threw her bat aside and grabbed Rika, who was sitting not too far from where we were standing.

"Mii~…" she whined as she was crushed by Rena's inescapable bear hug.

It was Satoko's turn now. When she took her position, Irie was looking at her funny. She mouthed something to him and made this odd but adorable face. Now Irie's face turned bright red. His pitches were slow and they were easy to hit. Satoko sent all of her pitches into the next city with each swing. It was all a scam! She bewitched Irie to help her get a high score!

I looked to Mion for some help, but she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms behind her head. "That's our rule: do whatever it takes to win!" she said to me. That was one of our most important rules of the club. I couldn't argue against it.

Satoko received a perfect score. She smiled at me maniacally and challenged me to defeat her. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, especially since Irie was on her side. I had to come up with something to shut Satoko down.

Rika came up. Irie threw the first ball and it suddenly broke apart when Rika's bat made contact with it. This happened to the other pitches she hit. All were smashed open and hurtled outside of the field. She received a score of eight, just like Mion! How the hell did she do it? When she left home plate, she was speaking to herself again. When she caught me watching her, she closed her eyes and smiled.

"Nipa~!"

I was up. This round didn't go well for me. I hit six homeruns as opposed to everyone else's good scores. Sweat was running down my face. I glanced at the brown bag sitting next to Mion. She pointed at it with a devilish grin. I was trembling at the thought of was what was in it. If I didn't do better this next round, I'd be playing the worst punishment game yet. I couldn't lose! I wasn't going to let anyone get the better of me!

During the break before the last round, I found Irie washing his face by a fountain. He noticed my shadow in the sunlight and looked at me with his bizarre smile.

"Maebara-kun! What brings you here? Time to wash your soft skin before the next round?"

I tried my best to ignore his usual humor. "Hey, Manager. I got a question for you?"

"Oh? What kind of question?"

"What did Satoko offer you?" I got straight to the point.

Irie feigned a look of confusion. "What did she offer me? I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Is that so?" I turned my back on him and crossed my arms. "Sorry! I guess I'm becoming a sore loser! I can't help it! I'm really competitive, you know. I never knew Satoko could be so good at sports!"

"She's very good!" Irie cleaned his glasses. "You saw for yourself! Not many girls like her can pull off a feat like that!"

"Yeah." I looked back at Irie. "Not many can wear a maid's dress like her either."

Irie's eyes flashed in the sunlight. "W-What did you say…?"

"Satoko's a real cute girl, huh? I bet she would look adorable in a maid's outfit, calling someone 'master' all day long!"

He was listening intently to me.

"But, it's too bad that that's just a fantasy. It would be great to see something like that! Especially on a day like today."

"Maebara-kun," he spoke quietly. I could hear his voice tremble. "What are you implying?"

"I'm just saying," I smiled at him, "wouldn't she look better in a maid's outfit than with just cat ears and a tail? Or better yet: what if she wore cat ears and a tail with a maid's uniform?" I approached him slowly, like a murderer stalking his target.

"W-W-What?" His nose began to bleed.

"Let me get a perfect score this round, Irie-sensei, and I'll make Satoko wear all that for you! All you have to do is let me hit ten homeruns, drop your agreement with Satoko, and she'll be all yours!" I said clearly for him, grabbing the collar on his uniform, grinning Mion's devilish smile.

He backed away from me. He fell to his knees hard. He looked up to me with tears in his eyes. "You would do that for me, Maebara-kun?"

"Of course I would! We're friends aren't we?" I held out my hand to him.

He grabbed it as he got back on his feet and we shook hands. Our grips were strong and our eyes were locked on each other. "I will help you! I will help you get a perfect score! And then Satoko-chan will be all mine!"

I smirked. When Irie went back to the mound, I cackled loud. My laugh was full of evil and pride. I got what I wanted; now all I had to do was win the game! No one, not even Satoko was standing in my way now! I grabbed my bat, my helmet, and took my batter's box. I held my bat high and winked at Irie. He winked back and winded up for the first pitch.

"I won't lose!" I cried out, swinging the bat as hard as I could.

I stood in the bathroom, covering myself up. I couldn't believe this was happening. I felt like I had died and went straight into the depths of Hell. I felt a great shame upon me. I was never going to live this down. I was never going to be the same again.

I lost the competition. I got ten homeruns in the last round, thanks to the alliance Irie and I formed, but it still wasn't enough. Mion hit nine homeruns, bringing her score to seventeen. Rena hit nine as well, tying Mion. Since she didn't beat her, she couldn't take Rika home. Satoko hit seven even without Irie's help, bringing her up to seventeen, and Rika hit ten. I was in dead last, so I had no choice but to play the punishment game. I hated my life.

"Kei-chaaaaan!" Mion sang. "Come on out of theeeere!"

I wanted to get this over with as soon as I could. I held my head up high and straightened my posture. I stomped over to the door of the bathroom and flung it open. When I stepped out with my hands on my hips, all of the kids, and all of the club members, Irie, and Shion, stared at me. The kids didn't laugh at all. They all trembled at the sight of what happened to me. Irie tried to look away. Shion held her chin and chuckled.

Satoko laughed like a hyena, Rika smiled and patted my head, and Mion was blushing uncontrollably but laughing at the same time. Rena scurried next to me, just watching how my body fidgeted. She played with my strings and tried to get behind me to see my backside. I ran away from her, but she kept catching up to me and choking me with her deadly embrace. I escaped a few times, but she continued to capture me.

"Hauuuuuu! Keeichi-kun's behind is so cuuuuute! I'm taking him home with me!"

"Oh ho ho ho ho ho! Keeiichi-san has lovely legs!"

Rika snickered as she patted my head. "…There, there!"

Mion snapped pictures with a camera she borrowed from one of the kids. She used up the whole film cartridge in the camera. "This is going to be plastered all over the classroom tomorrow!" She laughed.

"DAMMIT! DAMMIT!" I cursed at the top of my lungs.

The content of the brown bag was an article of clothing. It was an extremely revealing bikini that Mion's uncle got from a friend. It was so uncomfortable. I had to wear it until I returned home. Thank God that the sun was going down when I was forced to wear the bikini; I'd be home in just a short while. As I squirmed about it in, trying to avoid Rena, I could only begin to imagine if I had won the homerun faceoff.

What if Satoko lost? Or Rika? Or better yet, what if Rena lost? Or…what if Mion lost? I'd be able to see their legs, their thighs, their backs, their slender necks…it would be heaven on Earth! But my fantasies were destroyed when I came back to reality. I lost and now I had to pay for it. At least I wasn't the only one going down!

Irie approached Satoko. His eyes flashed again. He had a maid's outfit and a pair of cat ears and a tail in his hands. "Now, Satoko-chan," Irie said happily. "Time for Irie-san to collect!"

"What do you think you're doing?" She backed away.

"Maebara-san said if I gave him ten homeruns in the second round, then I could have Satoko-chan where these and call me 'master' for the rest of the day! And I can have Rika-chan too! Remember our agreement from before?"

"What? Grrrr! Keiichi! You bastard!"

Irie chased Satoko all around the field, waving the costume and props about. I was the one snickering now. Though I lost, I won a small victory by exacting my revenge on Satoko! Poor Rika, she got caught up in all of this too. But as we all say, the club is a serious thing!

We all had a great time today, despite me wearing the horrible swim gear. Everybody went home after the game ended. While Mion, Rena, and I were riding our bikes home, Rika stayed with Satoko, trying to save her from the misfortune I brought onto her. After helping Satoko and Rika hide from Irie, Shion joined up with us. Mion hated every moment her sister spent with us, but looked back at me occasionally to get a few more laughs from my bikini.

"That was a nasty trick you pulled on Satoko, Kei-chan," Shion scolded me.

"Do whatever it takes to win!" I replied back, regretting nothing at all. "Right, Mion?"

"Right!" She called back. "Kei-chan's become a master at this sort of thing!"

"Still, that was going a little too far." Shion grimaced.

"And shouldn't you be back there saving her and Rika?" I laughed

"They're safe now, no thanks to you!"

"Shii-chan cares a lot about Satoko, huh?" Rena smiled at Shion. They were riding next to each other.

"I do. I really do!" I saw Shion smile brightly. "She's all I have left of him. I promised him I'd take care of her."

"You mean Satoshi?" I asked plainly.

Shion hesitated to speak at first. "Yes," she said lowly.

"He left her in good hands!" I smiled warmly at Shion. Satoko was our connection. We both cared a lot for her, ever since the situation with her uncle. I was her big brother and Shion was her big sister. We loved her. We never wanted anything to keep her from smiling. We always wanted her to laugh and smile for the rest of her life.

Shion gave me a funny look, as if I looked like somebody else. She turned her gaze back to the road, blushing a tad. "We should get Kei-chan home before anybody sees his cute bikini!"

"If anybody sees him, it's his own fault! He lost the game!" Mion said playfully.

"Hauu! I want those pictures you took, Mii-chan!" Rena pleaded. "I want them! I want them!"

"Once I get them developed, I'll give some to you! You want some too, Kei-chan?"

"NO!"

"Hahaha!"

We arrived at my house and not a moment too soon. I was extremely lucky. Nobody was wandering around Hinamizawa. A few people saw me in Okinomiya when we were leaving, but we managed to slip past them before they could catch a better glimpse. When we came to my house, I waved goodbye to my friends. Even though I had to wear this ridiculous bikini, I still had a blast. Rena wished me a goodnight, as did Shion. Mion thanked me again for her teddy bear. I told her to think nothing of it. They rode off into the sunset, laughing and recalling everybody's performances at the game. I watched them as they left my house with a huge smile on my face. I loved these people. I absolutely loved them.

I was about to touch the knob on my door when it was opened. My dad stood at the threshold. He heard me coming and wanted to greet me. He noticed my bikini and looked at it for a whole minute.

"Uh, hi, Dad." I said ashamed of how I looked. "I lost the club activity again, haha…"

"That outfit," he said darkly. He grabbed my shoulder and squeezed it tightly. Tears filled his eyes and he turned his free hand into a fist. He was crying tears of joy. Damn my father's artistic mind! "Keiichi! You don't know how happy this makes me!"

"Eh?"

"Let's go into the studio! I don't want to waste another moment! I have to capture this image! Oh, and don't tell your mother about this!"

"What? Let me go! Dad! Knock it off!"

The cicadas chirped very loudly outside of the classroom the next day. I fell asleep during one of Chie-sensei's lectures, but they woke me up during half of it. Not realizing that class was only half way through, I yawned. I must have yawned pretty loud because all of my classmates were staring at me, even Chie-sensei. She glowered at me.

She calmly strolled to my desk and rested the edge of her T-square on my desk. She looked down at me.

"Are you paying attention to me, Maebara-kun?" she asked in a demonic tone.

"Huh? Oh, uh, haha! Yeah, of course I am!" Sweat ran down the back of my neck.

"You were? Then tell me, what's the significance of this line?"

What line? Were we talking about poetry? Or were we reading a textbook? I had no freaking clue what we were doing! Anything I said could be used against me. I was as good as dead. Unless...

That's when it hit me. I could get out of this. I was going to get out of this!

I cleared my throat and spoke confidently. "Well, it's very obvious. The significance of this line reminds me of the significance of something else in life. It reminds me of the greatest fruit that the earth has ever bore. It reminds me of curry!"

Chie-sensei blinked. "What?"

"It's exactly like curry! Without curry, we could not enjoy one of life's greatest pleasures! We'd be doomed to a life without curry! We'd be doomed to an existence without the most lip-moistening delicacy that ever blessed this planet! It's the very same case with this line!"

Chie-sensei blinked several times before opening her mouth. She looked delighted. Her simper was so wide and her eyes beamed at me. "What a wonderful thought! I never would have thought of it that way! Maebara-kun, you're a genius!"

I chuckled. "Why, thank you! I try my best!"

My head suddenly hurt. Her T-square had smacked me hard. I clutched my wound and yelped.

"Speaking ill about curry is a heavy crime," she yelled at me, "but sucking up to me by using curry is unforgivable! How dare you?"

"Ow, ow, ow!"

Lunch time rolled around. Mion, Rena, and I brought our desks together and began to pick at each other's lunchboxes. It was only us three. Rika and Satoko didn't come in today. Rena looked worried.

"It's not like Rika or Satoko to miss school." She was frowning. "I wonder what happened."

"They're fine!" Mion said with a mouthful of rice. "I wouldn't worry!"

"I agree with Mion." I wiped my mouth clean. "They probably overslept or something."

"I hope they made it home alright yesterday."

Mion stopped eating for a moment. She looked at Rena reassuringly. "Shion called me last night. She called Kasai, her guard, to drive them home after they ran a few errands in Okinomiya before she rode with us. Kasai said they made it home safely last night, he confirmed it!"

"Well, that's a relief!" Rena smiled.

"They must be exhausted from yesterday's game! They did a great job!"

"Maebara-kun!" Chie-sensei called me. "There's a visitor at the front. He wishes to speak with you."

I stood up and approached the threshold of the classroom door. She huffed at me and walked back to the teacher's office. I was beginning to think that philosophical faux paw I made about curry wasn't such of a good idea.

I exited the classroom and treaded down the hall. When I reached the main entrance, I was met by a familiar face.

"Maebara-san, right?" a man asked me. He had short black hair and wore a yellow jacket with blue trousers.

"Oh! Akasaka-san!" I was happy to see him. The last time I saw him was about a month ago, back when we were fighting Takano. Rika-chan seemed really fond of him. I remembered the hug she gave him when we first met. "What brings you here?"

Akasaka scratched his head. "I transferred to the Okinomiya precinct. Ooishi-san's retired and on vacation, so I decided to fill his space."

"That's good news! How's Oiishi-san doing?"

"He's fine." Akasaka looked around us suspiciously. "Hey, Maebara-san, can we talk in my car over there?" He pointed to his vehicle. "It's a little hot out here and I can use the AC right about now."

I raised my eyebrow at him. This was all too familiar. "Uh, ok."

We walked to his car. I climbed into the passenger's seat while he sat in the driver's spot. He flicked on the AC and sighed in relief. His face was sweating and his eyes didn't blink once.

"That's much better!"

"So, what's going on, Akasaka-san?" I asked.

He pulled out a small notebook from his jacket pocket, along with a pen. "Were you with Rika-chan and Houjou Satoko-chan yesterday afternoon?"

"I was. We were playing a baseball game in the city."

"When did you last see them?"

"Around sunset. My friends, Rena, Shion, and Mion and I rode on our bikes back to Hinamizawa.

"You were on a blue bike?"

"Yeah…?"

"Oh! So you were the guy in the bikini!" he laughed to himself. "I was talking to bystanders before I came here and they said that they saw you-"

I was embarrassed, but something about his laugh bothered me. It didn't sound genuine. It sounded like he was faking it. His appearance bothered me as well. His eyes, the way he sweated, and the way his fingers twitched when he wrote in his notebook. Something wasn't right. My head was filling with thoughts and concerns. It wasn't like a cop to just stop by and say hi when you're in the middle of school.

"What's going on, Akasaka-san?" I said sternly this time, interrupting him. I wanted him to get the point.

He sighed again. It sounded as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "I don't know how to put this, but," he peered directly into my eyes, "Rika-chan and Satoko-chan are missing."


	2. Chapter 2: Suspicion

Chapter 2: Suspicion

Part A

"Maebara-san? Maebara-san, are you with me?"

My world was beginning to collapse around me. All of the happiness I had for that single month was undone by one sentence. Rika-chan and Satoko were missing. I didn't hear anything else after that. My eyes were cast down to the floor of Akasaka's car. I didn't blink; I didn't move a muscle, not even a single strand of my hair moved.

Rika and Satoko were missing? That was impossible! Mion said that Kasai, Shion's bodyguard, dropped them off at their house last night! He told Shion, who told Mion, who told Rena and me. How the hell could they be missing?

Dark thoughts dominated my mind. I replayed what Shion said when we were riding home: Kasai drove them home and dropped them off. If that were true, they would have showed up for school. They would be having lunch with us! They would be laughing with us and planning the next club activity! But it wasn't true, no matter how hard I tried to think about it. Rika and Satoko were missing.

"Maebara-san!" Akasaka shook me.

I regained focus. I shot him a furious leer. "They're missing?" I shouted.

"Yes." Akasaka's hand was still on my shoulder. "Stay with me, Maebara-san! Keep your cool, okay?"

"How can I keep cool when they're gone?"

"I said calm down!" He yelled at me. His thundering voice shut me up. His glare returned to an emotionless expression. "I don't know much about this. The department got a call from someone in Hinamizawa so I came to check it out. I just came from the scene."

"What'd you find out?"

"I can't say for certain yet. I have to collect my thoughts and what little evidence I have before I make an opinion."

"What are you talking about? You have to know something? You have to-" Kasai's name kept hovering in my head. It wasn't until then that I realized something. "That Kasai guy!" My thoughts finally escaped my parched mouth. "Mion told us Shion had him drive them home!"

"She did?" Akasaka's face looked ashen. He flipped through his notebook again. "That would explain the car reports I've been hearing about. Residents who were up at the time last night heard a car arrive somewhere in Hinamizawa, while others saw a similar car leave the village. They claimed the vehicle was black and that it may have been a Sonozaki vehicle. They didn't get a look at the driver, however, but if what Mion said was true, then Kasai was the one driving that car. It makes sense that he should be driving it since he's affiliated with the family."

Akasaka groaned. "I really don't like the sound of this." He was talking to himself. He forgot that I was sitting in the car with him. "Maybe the people in Okinomiya would recognize the car too. They should know it because he drives Shion around. He's her guard, right? If both those cars are the same one in question, then I'm afraid Kasai might be a suspect."

"Did they say where the car parked?" I spoke quickly before Akasaka continued his rambling.

"No, they couldn't tell." Akasaka sighed. "But it's too troublesome to get a car up to Rika-chan's house. She and Satoko must have walked from where they were dropped off."

"What if they weren't dropped off? What if Kasai kidnapped them?" I was starting to sweat again. My heart was beating rapidly. I was furious, depressed, and confused all at once. My head was about to burst.

Akasaka blinked at me.

"It's obvious, isn't it? He drives them home, but in reality, he was just going to kidnap them! He probably took them somewhere secret and is holding them prisoner!"

Akasaka thought for a moment. "Rika is an important member of this village. If this was for a ransom, she would be the perfect target. But I can't believe Kasai would do such a thing. We fought alongside each other last month against the Yamainu! Without his help, we probably wouldn't have gotten as far as we did! It doesn't make sense why he would suddenly turn on us!"

"That doesn't excuse him from all of this! He's the last person to see Rika and Satoko! He has to know something!"

He rubbed the back of his head with another grunt. "I'll question him once I get back to Okinomiya. I'll question Shion too to see what she knows."

My heart sunk. I was feeling awful that Satoko and Rika were gone, but how would Shion feel? She loved Satoko dearly. I loved her dearly. The three of us were connected by a strong bond. Shion's heart would break and her spirit would be crushed if she found out about this. I was about to ask Akasaka to not tell her, but that wouldn't do any good. Shion deserved to know, just like Rena and Mion did.

If they were in my position, they would probably tell me too. I didn't want to keep any secrets from my friends. They had to know everything that was going on. Once I told them, they could help out with the search. I wouldn't get anywhere with just me and Akasaka. Rena, Mion, and Hinamizawa had to know. When one of us was attacked, all of us were attacked. That was the unwritten creed of Hinamizawa. We were all in this together.

I couldn't stop thinking about Shion though. She was going to be devastated. As I was like Satoko's brother, it was my duty to help her and Shion. Shion needed someone to be with her. I was going to be that guy; I needed to be the guy.

"Try to go easy on her," I warned Akasaka. "She's gonna take it very hard, especially with Satoko."

"I'll do my best to ease her pain." Akasaka nodded strongly to me. "I'm also going to do my best to find and punish the ones responsible for this!" I saw tears in his eyes. He must really have had a strong connection to Rika. "But I can't do this by myself. I'm going to need help."

"I'll be here whenever you need me, Akasaka-san!" I looked at him like a soldier speaking to his commanding officer. "I'll do whatever it takes!"

He nodded to me with a slight smile. "Thank you, Maebara-san. You should get back to your friends. I'll head back to Okinomiya and see what I can dig up. Once I get my thoughts together, I'll fill you in. Be careful though, okay, Maebara-san? Notify me if you hear anything that may help."

"I promise that I will." I exited the car.

Akasaka waved back at me and drove off into the distance. Though I showed courage and determination to him, it was all a façade. I wanted to get on my hands and knees and cry for as long as I could. I knew deep down that crying wouldn't bring them back to me, but I felt so horrible. I should've stayed with them! I shouldn't have let my guard down!

I kicked the wall of the school hard. I pounded on it with my fists. I cried a little, even though I was trying to hold back the tears. Satoko and Rika wouldn't want to see me cry. It wasn't like me. But how could I not feel so disgusted and depressed?

Whoever did this, I told myself, I would kill him! I would murder him! I would tear him to shreds with my bare hands, bash his skull in until his brains spilled out of his head, break every bone in his body, and leave him as carrion for the ravens! I'd get all of Hinamizawa and mutilate him! I'd make him regret the day he ever laid a hand on Satoko and Rika! I'd make him pay!

My blood began to boil. My vision became fuzzy. My fists were clenched tightly. I wasn't Maebara Keiichi anymore; I was a feral beast hunting for my prey. I wouldn't stop until I clawed at his flesh and picked it from his bones. I wouldn't care what happened afterward. I just wanted him dead!

After a few moments, I regained my posture and calmed myself down. I knew killing someone wasn't going to do me any good. It would just leave a bigger hole in my heart.

The cicadas eased my anger somewhat. The vision of a world gone red vanished from my eyes. I was back in Hinamizawa. I was back to being Maebara Keiichi.

I returned to the classroom with my fists still clenched. I found Rena and Mion eating the rest of their lunches. They saw me; they saw my puffy eyes, my vibrating fists, and the look of anguish in my eyes. I told them everything Akasaka told me. I told them about how Rika and Satoko never came home. I told them everything.

"That's horrible!" Rena gasped as she held her hands to her mouth.

"Who the hell did this?" Mion scowled.

The kids in class overheard the story, even Chie-sensei. She cancelled the rest of the class and asked us to go home. She left the classroom and informed the principal. I could hear them as Rena, Mion, and I walked out.

The three of us stood on a lonely road away from the school, with our satchels in our hands, feeling depressed and infuriated.

"I still can't believe it," Rena whimpered. "Everything was going so well and now this happens!"

"It's alright," I tried to comfort her. I knew those words were the last thing she wanted to hear, but I had to say something. "Akasaka is handling it. We can count on him!"

"I hope the village leader does something."

"He will." Mion crossed her arms and furrowed her brow. "Rika is just as important to Hinamizawa as everybody else! He's not going to let the culprit get away with this! I refuse to let that happen!"

"Even so," Rena wiped the tears from her eyes. "We can only do so much."

"We will find them," I reassured her.

"Just who would do this?" Mion stamped her foot down on the ground hard.

Kasai's name entered my head. I knew he had to be guilty. He was the last person to see them. He had to be responsible. Once Akasaka interrogated him and arrested him, we would find Rika and Satoko. Everything would go back to normal.

"Hey, Mii-chan?" Rena seemed to calm down a bit. "Wasn't Kasai-san the one who drove them home? Didn't you say that?"

Rena was thinking my thoughts. She must be suspicious of him too.

"Kasai wouldn't do anything dirty like that!" Mion raised her voice a little. She knew exactly what Rena was getting at. "He's incredibly loyal to the Sonozaki family! He loves Hinamizawa! He would never do anything stupid like this!"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive!

"I mean, he was the last one to see them, right?"

Mion got more and more frustrated with Rena's pursuit. It took everything she had not to lash out and scold Rena for thinking that way.

"I'm sure he's innocent!" She responded as she grinded her teeth. She was trying not to scream.

"Okay then," Rena said with a light sigh. "I just wonder what happened…"

There was a strong tension in the air as we walked home. When we came to Mion's cutoff point, she said a small goodbye and went on her way. Rena was extremely quiet when she and I walked home together. It wasn't like her at all. She was always happy and smiling; she would always spot something cute and try to take it home. This time, however, she was quiet. She scared me the most when she was like that. It was like she was a different person.

I was fortunate I didn't say anything about Kasai in front of Mion. She looked as if she was about to rip Rena's head right off of her shoulders. If I was the one who brought him up, Mion would probably do the same thing. Thankfully, I was able to keep my mouth shut.

When we reached my house, I invited Rena in for some tea to lift her spirits, but she declined. She said she wanted to go home and inform her father about what was happening. She said she was going to look for any leads on Rika and Satoko later as well. I told her to wait until the village leader knew. I knew I was always brash, but this time, we couldn't afford to be hasty. We had to play this smart. Rena agreed and walked off towards her house, looking down at the ground.

My parents weren't home yet. It was still in the afternoon. The adults were still at work. We all had the rest of the day to ourselves, but we didn't feel like doing much of anything. I sat at the kitchen table, holding my head in my hands. I felt like I was going to start crying again.

The phone began to ring. It startled me and knocked me out of my trance. I quickly walked over to the phone and took up the receiver.

"Hello, Maebara residence?" I said.

_"Kei-chan? It's Mion."_

Mion? How'd she get home so fast? She must have sprinted home when we lost sight of her. I wonder what she wanted.

"Hey, what's going on? I just saw you a little while ago."

_"What Rena said really bothered me."_

"I could tell."

_"You don't think Kasai is behind all of this, do you?"_

Dammit. She had to ask what I was thinking. How was I going to get out of this one? If I told her the truth, that would make her angry with me. If I didn't, I'd be lying to her and she would probably find out and get even angrier. Either way, I would lose.

"Um," I thought for a second. "Akasaka says Kasai has been a great ally since last month; he doesn't think he could have anything to do with all of this."

_"I wanna know what you think, Keiichi." _Her voice sounded irritated.

"I…uh…it's hard to say. I mean, Shion did say he was going to take care of them."

_"I don't believe any of it! I know Kasai! He's been with Shion for such a long time, why would he kidnap Rika and Satoko? It doesn't make any sense!"_

"I think it's weird too." I tried to be as calm as possible.

_"Now Akasaka's gonna question him and Shion's gonna find out! She's gonna be a wreck!"_ I thought I heard crying on the other line. It wasn't like Mion to cry. I don't think I've ever heard her do that before.

"Mion?"

_"I don't know what to think anymore!"_ She sniffled. _"I wanna believe he's not involved, but he's the only person who saw them last! I don't understand!"_

"Mion, it's okay!" I said as warmly as I could. "Akasaka's gonna find out everything! He's gonna figure it all out! We're gonna solve this together!"

_"Kei-chan…I…"_

"You need to take it easy. Go lie down. I'm as much a mess as you right now. We need to take things one step at a time! We can't afford to just rush in!"

_"Haha," _a small laugh came from her. Did I say something questionable? _"Since when did you become so levelheaded? You always rush into things head first. That's not the Kei-chan I know."_

I laughed too. "I guess I'm growing up!"

_"Haha. Hey, Kei-chan?"_

"Yeah?"

_"I'm-I'm holding onto that bear you gave me yesterday." _Her voice was trembling. Her tears seemed to stop though. _"It's making me feel better now."_

"Good. Just keep holding onto him and you'll be fine. I'll take care of everything! You just relax, okay? Maebara Keiichi is on the job!"

_"Thank you... but, Kei-chan. I'm worried about Shion too. She's going to be in pieces when she finds out."_

I knew how she was feeling. I was concerned about Shion as well. "What would you like me to do, Mion?"

_"I think Shion needs you too. You, her, and Satoko are very close. She's going to need help, especially since Kasai is going to be questioned by Akasaka. I don't think my voice is going to reach her. I believe only you can truly help her."_

"Is that what you want? I can go to Okinomiya later and check on her if you'd like."

_"If you would please. I know it's out of your way…"_

"I don't mind at all." I was speaking more warmly to her. I knew I said I was going to see Shion, but I didn't want to leave Mion. I felt guilty about leaving her alone while I would go talk to her sister in person. "Mion, can I call you afterward? I want to make sure you're okay too."

I heard a tiny gasp from her. "_You would do that?"_

"'Course I would!" I chuckled.

She laughed a little. _"Okay! I'll be waiting for your call. Please, make sure Shion's fine."_

"I promise I'll take care of her."

She hung the phone up.

Mion always claimed she hated Shion for all the things she did around us. She said she hated her company, the way she talked, and the way she behaved around us. She especially hated it when Shion teased me because that was her job. I knew deep down that none of it was true. I knew she loved her sister. Mion loved everybody. To hear her in this depressed state broke me. I didn't want to see any of my friends hurt. I wanted them to keep smiling.

A few hours later, I changed clothes and hopped on my bike. I rode it all the way to Okinomiya. On my ride, I was thinking about what Mion said. She said that I changed. I knew I was changing. I used to be the kind of guy that ran into everything, throwing caution to the wind. But after everything that happened in the past month, I guess that that part of me was gone. I was refraining from diving straight into the action and I was now approaching everything with a keen eye. Diving into things only starts more trouble, you had to be careful. That was what my friends taught me, it was what Hinamizawa taught me. I wouldn't be the person I am without that village.

I arrived at Okinomiya station around 3 pm. I remembered the way to Shion's apartment. We visited her one day and had a club activity with her there. We played a special kind of poker. If you lost a round, you would have to do something designated by the winner, which would be Mion most of the time. I was the object of so much abuse from her! I did win occasionally and got my vengeance, but only to have it come back to bite me in the ass. The club is a dangerous thing after all!

Her apartment was pretty simple. A twirling staircase led right up to her floor. I ascended it after chaining my bike up to a post. I found her room number; I knocked on the door and awaited a response. The door opened up. A grief-stricken Shion stood at the threshold. She had been crying for a long time because her eyes were so red. She was sniffling when she saw me standing before her. She looked awful.

"Shion!" I held my breath at her disheveled appearance.

"Kei-chan," she said emotionlessly. "Why are you here?"

"I-I came to make sure you're okay. Mion's worried about you."

"Haha," she chuckled darkly. "Sis is worried about me, huh?"

"Yeah. She asked me to come and make sure you were okay."

"Do I look okay?" Her voice was sharp. It cut right down to my bones. Her emerald eyes tore my heart open. They held the same emotions I had before: anger, sadness, disgust, and confusion. I knew that pain; I was still feeling it myself.

"That's why I'm here," I said, gathering my courage. "I'm here to make things better."

"Ha. I'd like to see you try."

We stood silent for a solid minute, just watching each other.

"C-Can I come in?"

Without a word, she stepped aside.

I entered her apartment. Some of her clothes were scattered across the different rooms. I saw skirts on her bed, underwear hanging off of the table, and some of her jewelry next to her TV. It was a mess.

I sat at her kitchen table and she sat opposite me. She played with her nails, looking at her lap. We were quiet for a long time. I couldn't find the right words to say. I was also afraid of her. Her cold stare, her body language, and the way she presented herself drained me of what little fortitude I had to face her. She looked exactly like I did when Akasaka told me the news. It was safe to say that he had been here already.

"Akasaka came here," she finally said. She must have seen what I was thinking on my face. Rena was always able to do that. I wish I could hold my emotions to myself better.

"You know, don't you?" It was a stupid question I had to ask.

"He took Kasai to the police station. He's probably interrogating him now."

I looked away from her. "I'm sorry."

"For what? It's not like _you _had anything to do with Rika's or Satoko's disappearance."

"What can you tell me about them?" I felt like a cop getting a statement from an innocent bystander.

"The last time I saw them was when I told Kasai to drive them home after they were done shopping in the city. He said he watched them like a hawk. He didn't let them out of his sight. He said he dropped them off in Hinamizawa near some phone booth. They didn't want to bug him so they made the rest of the trip themselves on their bikes. He told me clearly over the phone. I told Sis after I finished with him."

I looked back at Shion. She was still playing with her nails.

"Akasaka's a great cop," I said, trying to build her spirits up. "He'll find them! Chie-sensei at school told the principal and I think they contacted the village leader. All of Hinamizawa will know about this! Everybody's gonna do their best to help out! Have faith, okay?" I smiled at her. It was the warmest smile I ever made.

"Everybody…everybody's gonna help find them?"

I walked over to her. I knelt down to face her. She didn't look at me. She turned her head away from me.

"Yeah! It's all gonna work out! Rena's going to help, Mion will help, Akasaka's doing his best, and all of Hinamizawa is going to help. We'll catch the lowlife who did this!"

"Kasai didn't do it."

"Huh?"

"He couldn't have. I know him better than anyone."

"Mion thinks that too." My hand twitched. His name still bothered me.

"He can't be the culprit. It's impossible." Her body was shivering.

"We'll find out the truth."

I placed my hand on her head. I rubbed it lightly. Her hair was soft. I could smell the shampoo she used from here. It smelled delectable. I rubbed her head for a minute or so.

Her head slowly turned to face me. When her eyes met mine, I immediately took my hand back. I fell back. I was the one trembling now. The aura around her morphed into something hideous. Her presence made my veins and pulse tremble. I never saw her like this.

Her eyes were like a serpent's. They looked deeper into my own eyes. Her face contorted into that of a cold-hearted monster. I couldn't take my eyes from her; her gaze paralyzed me. The gorgon had me in her trap.

Shion rose from her seat and stood over me. Her eyes still had me under her spell. I didn't move, I couldn't move. She wasn't going to let me go, not without a fight. She got on her hands and knees and looked over me. She looked at my neck and then my face. She tapped my chest with her finger.

"Why did you do that?" she asked. Her tone sounded calm, but her eyes were anything but.

"Huh? I was only trying to-"

Her finger slid from my chest up to my neck. Her nail glided over my skin. I thought she was going to claw my throat out. She drew circles around my neck with her finger.

"Shion, what're you…?"

"Why did you do that?" she repeated, this time in dark tone.

"I was only trying to make you feel better! I'm sorry if I angered you!"

A small laugh escaped her cold lips. "I'm not the one you should be worried about." Her fingers curled around my neck. "You should be worried about what I may do when I get my hands on the one who took Satoko…and Rika."

"I want to make him pay too! C'mon, let me get up…!"

"You're not getting it, Kei-chan." She flashed her teeth. "Silly, silly, boy…!"

She squeezed my neck tightly with just one hand. I gripped her forearm with my hands and tried to shake her off of me. But her grasp was too strong. Where'd she get this strength from?

"How do I know you're not behind this?" She climbed on top of me; she looked down into my eyes. She was going to kill me!

"What're you…talking about…? I would never-"

"STOP IT! YOU'RE LYING! YOU'RE LYING!" Her grip tightened. Her free hand took hold of my neck too. "You've been treating Satoko terribly lately! What'd she ever do to you? She looked up to you as a brother and you teased her like that! How can you betray her like that? You're despicable!"

I was teasing Satoko lately, a lot. I was only playing with her, much like she was with me. We got carried away a little bit and got on each other's nerves sometimes, but I never wanted her gone. I never wanted this to happen to her! Why was Shion suspicious of me? I loved Satoko!

"Shion…" My vision was blurry. The life was being squeezed out of me little by little.

"Give her back to me!" she screamed at me. Her thighs squeezed my sides. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. "Give her back to me, you bastard!"

I managed to bring my foot underneath her stomach. I kicked her hard. She flew off of me and landed on the floor on her back. I got up to my knees and wheezed hard. When I looked up, I saw Shion was already standing, with a stun gun in her hand. My eyes twitched and they were opened as wide as they could get. She squeezed the switch and that awful buzzing sound came from it. She was holding a bolt of blue lightning, waiting to strike me down.

"Kei-chaaaan," she sang. "Tell me where Satoko is and I may just-"

"Shion, STOP!" I yelled. I was still breathing heavily. "I don't know where she is! I'm not responsible for this! I didn't make her or Rika disappear!"

She walked closer to me. She was very slow and that wicked gaze did not leave her face.

"I love them dearly! I love Rika! I love Satoko! We play pranks on each other a lot, yeah, and we bug each other sometimes, but that doesn't mean I want her to disappear! You know that!"

Her mouth was slowly opening. She was still squeezing the switch on the stun gun.

"Satoko's like my little sister! I love her! I'm like her Niinii!"

Shion suddenly dropped the stun gun. She staggered over to me. I backed up into a wall. She was looking at the floor the whole time she approached me. I braced myself for another attack, but she didn't lunge at me again.

She looked at me. The serpentine eyes she had minutes ago were gone. They returned to her normal eyes. They were filled with tears and she was sniveling. She wrapped her arms around me and stuck her face into my neck. Her tears soothed the rash she gave me when she was choking me. I had small cuts around it too when I kicked her off of me because of her nails.

She was crying loudly. She clutched at my back and pushed her body into mine. I wanted to put my arms around her, but I was cautious to do so. I remained still, watching her every move.

"I'm sorry," she said pitifully. "I'm sorry, Satoshi-kun, I'm sorry…forgive me…"

"I'm not Satoshi…" I said quietly.

"I know you love her…why did I attack you? It's the demon dwelling within me…it's the making me do this..."

"Demon?" That was the first time I heard her say that before. She was skipping from one statement to the next. What was going on with her mind?

I felt her kiss my wounds. Her lips were hot. The kiss she gave me was passionate and tender. I didn't know what was going on with her, but I was glad she was fine now. Did she really think I was Satoshi? Whether she did or didn't, letting her cry like this calmed her down. I put my arms around her and held her. Shion needed a good cry; she needed to let it all out. She needed to get rid of every negative emotion that plagued her. The demon within her was quiet, and I hoped it would stay that way forever.

Part B

I told Mion the story when I returned home that night. I told her Kasai was being interrogated by Akasaka, and that Shion was incredibly distraught. I left out the fact that she attacked me. Shion wasn't in the right mind set. She was grieving over Satoko and Rika and lashed out at the closest person: me. She didn't know what she saying or doing. I managed to calm myself down when Akasaka informed me back at school. If I didn't, I believed that I would turn into a different Maebara Keiichi, much like how Shion became a different Shion. I was fortunate to control myself, but as for her, she definitely needed help.

Mion suggested that she invite Shion to stay with her in the Sonozaki house until this whole thing blew over. I agreed to that. Shion needed her friends and her sister. Rena and I could visit them and we could try to lift their spirits up. We could eat dinner together and spend as much time as possible together. We also could look for Rika and Satoko together. Everything would be fine, we had to believe that.

I didn't sleep that night. There were too many thoughts in my head that kept me awake. I thought about Kasai and how guilty he was. He obviously kidnapped them. I didn't understand why Akasaka was wasting his time; he had the kidnapper right there with him. I didn't care what he said, or what Mion said. The fact was that he saw them last. He was the prime suspect. He just had to be the culprit!

As those thoughts swirled inside my head like a maelstrom, my neck was beginning to irritate me. It was itchy, very itchy. I scratched at it all night. Even though I kept scratching at every possible spot on my neck, I could never get rid of the itch. The burning sensation I felt was driving me insane. Was there nothing I could do to stop the pain?

In the morning, I checked myself out in the mirror in my bathroom. My neck was all red. The rash Shion had given me when she was choking me was still there, along with the cuts from her nails. My own nails missed the wounds, but they made the rash worse. It was still itching.

I didn't tell my parents about it. I said I was going to leave home to get to school early, but I was really going to go to the clinic. My mom was surprised at my wish to leave early. Rena always came to pick me up and we would meet Mion. She asked me why, but I ignored her and ran out the door before she me. The sensations on my neck were extremely irritating. I could barely put up with it. We didn't have any cream or anything in the bathroom to soothe the pain, but I knew the clinic must have something.

I arrived at the clinic in no time, mostly because I was sprinting there. I didn't want Rena or anybody to catch me. If they saw my neck they would worry about me. I wasn't their priority, Rika and Satoko were. This minor irritation was nothing compared to what was happening to them. I was just going to get some medicine to stop the itching and head to school. I would have to come up with a convincing lie to hide my neck though. I would worry about that when the time came though.

Irie's new nurse led me into his office. He didn't have that goofy aura around him. He was quite serious. He must have heard about Rika and Satoko. The ladies in the waiting room were talking about them too. That was good news. All of Hinamizawa should know now. It would only be a matter of time before everybody went after the asshole behind the kidnapping.

"Maebara-san," Irie said with a depressed tone. "What brings you here?"

"I came to get a small check-up." I pointed to my neck. "I got this yesterday and it hasn't stopped itching. Can you treat this for me?"

Irie rose from his desk and sat me down on his chair. He put on some gloves and felt around my neck. His eyes didn't blink at all. I thought I saw a drop of sweat roll down his temple.

"So," I said trying to lighten the mood, "how're things at the clinic?"

"They're fine." He didn't seem to have any intention carrying on that conversation. "Where did you get this rash…and these cuts?"

Shion did it, but I couldn't tell him that. She was just angry and sad; she had no idea what she was doing.

"Uh," I thought for a moment. "I tried this new cologne but I guess I'm allergic to it!" I laughed lightly. "It was really itchy that I scratched at it enough and kinda cut my neck with my nails."

"You're sure?" He looked into my eyes. He was more serious than when I entered the office.

"Yeah, of course."

Irie took his gloves off and disposed of them. He put on a new pair and went out into the hallway for a moment. He was talking with his nurse. After a few minutes, he had a bottle in one hand and a syringe in another.

"I'm going to give you some cream to stop the itching and some disinfectant. I also want to administer a shot."

"A shot? Why?"

"Can't be too careful, right?" He tried his best to smile genuinely. "We don't want you to get sick!"

I never heard of getting a shot for a simple rash. But Irie was the doctor here, not me.

He gave me the shot and disinfected my cuts. He put the cream around my neck in a light coat. He then wrapped small bandages around my individual cuts, and then a bigger bandage around my neck to keep the cream on. When he was done, he disposed of his new pair of gloves. He was scribbling some notes down at his desk.

"I want you to put this cream on whenever your neck starts to itch, okay? Just dab it on and wrap a bandage around yourself. That should stop it. If the itching continues to persist after you're done with the bottle, come see me again. I want to make sure this isn't anything serious."

"Um, okay, thanks!" I stood up. He was still scribbling in his notepad. He didn't lift his head up to wish me goodbye. "Irie-sensei?"

"Hmm?" He turned to face me finally. "Is there something else you need?"

"I just wanted to tell you that…Akasaka is doing everything he can to find them."

Irie glanced at the wall. "I know he is. He called and told me about the situation."

I didn't know what to say to Irie. He loved Satoko as much as I did.

"I heard he was interrogating Shion-chan's driver, that Kasai. I don't want to believe he did this, but from what he's told me…"

I didn't respond. I was afraid I was going to lash out if he continued talking about that bastard.

"Oh, Maebara-san! In speaking of that, the village leader is going to hold a meeting tonight for the adults. Make sure you tell your parents to attend if they haven't already heard. He stressed that everybody has to know the situation and what they can do to help."

"Alright, I'll tell them. Irie-sensei? Thanks for helping me; we'll find them! I know we will!"

Irie smiled weakly. It wasn't much, but it meant something. I think that was what Irie needed to hear. You need hope to solve any problem. As long as there is hope, anything is possible.

I exited the clinic. I sighed heavily. Irie wasn't any better than how we were all feeling. I felt good about paying him a visit though. I think he needed to see a friendly face. I walked along the road with my hands in my pockets and with my bag over my shoulder. I looked at my watch for a second. It was still morning; I didn't miss much of class.

I heard a car pull up behind me. I heard its horn honk at me. I thought it was the driver telling me to get out of the way. I wasn't in the mood for this bullshit. I turned around sharply and I was going to yell at the idiot driver, when I noticed it was Akasaka.

"Maebara-san!" He waved.

I approached the driver's side of the car. I peered into the car and found him with a hand on the wheel and his arm on the side of the door. "Akasaka-san! Why're you here?"

"I came to look for you. Hey, what were you doing at the clinic? You're not sick or anything are you?"

"No, I just had an allergic reaction to some new cologne I was wearing. I just went to get some medicine."

"Well if that's all it is then, that's good. Do you have school now?"

"I was just on my way there, actually."

"Do you think you can come with me for a little while? I haven't had breakfast at all today! I know a good restaurant we can go to! My treat!"

My mind felt funny. Had I done this before? Didn't someone I know offer me breakfast or lunch when I was heading to school? Was I just imagining things? My mind was in such a haze, like Shion. I was still grieving too. I was worried about the girls so much that my mind was playing tricks on me.

"You alright, Maebara-san?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" I understood what Akasaka really wanted to do. He wanted to discuss what was happening. I was one of his links to Hinamizawa, I was the first person he told the news to.

I accepted his offer and climbed in the car with him. If there was anything he wanted me to do to help, I was ready. We drove out of Hinamizawa and we ended up in Okinomiya. I had a suspicion where this guy was taking me. There was only one restaurant in Okinomiya that everybody I knew went to. It practically was the best restaurant in the whole city. There was no other place like it! Where else could you see beautiful women in such dazzling and revealing outfits?

Angel Mort never looked better. We were greeted by a cute waitress with short hair. She had this cute way of walking when she showed us to our seats; she kind of wiggled her behind as she moved. I couldn't help but be bewitched. It reminded me of the time I first met Shion. I thought she was Mion in disguise! Still though, I wondered what Mion would look like if she wore one of those outfits.

I was hoping to see Shion back at work, but I didn't. How could you blame her though? I hadn't seen her since yesterday, but I was hoping she was alright. Mion was probably taking care of her right now. The thought of that eased my weary mind a little.

We took our seats and were told that our real waitress would come back to take our orders soon. I watched her leave and I snickered at Akasaka.

"This was the place you mentioned? Kukuku! Akasaka-san, I'm surprised! I thought you were a happily married man! What would your wife think if she saw you here?"

Akasaka's face turned red and he looked away from my perverted expression. "I-I like the food here, that's all!"

"That's the not the only thing you like!"

"Anyway!" Akasaka hid his face behind the menu booklet. He was trying to regain his composure. "I wanted to discuss something with you."

I quit playing around now. "What is it? You have something new on the investigation?"

"Well, kind of." He put down the menu and folded his hands. "I interrogated Kasai. He denies being involved with the kidnapping."

"Of course he would!" He said disgusted. "He's guilty and he knows it!"

"I trust what's he saying, Maebara-san." Akasaka sounded stern. "He dropped the girls off around 8 pm on the night in question, near the old phone booth in Hinamizawa. The girls insisted that they would be fine and didn't want to trouble Kasai any further. He acknowledged after a lot of convincing. He phoned Sonozaki Shion-san minutes later. He later took Shion out for ice cream when she returned to Okinomiya, after she went to the Sonozaki house with Mion-san for a quick visit. Shion vouched for him."

I recalled how I found Shion yesterday. I tried to forget about what I saw.

"I had to make sure Kasai told the truth. Shion forced him to take her out. Around 8:30 pm, right when Kasai and Shion were having ice cream, Rika and Satoko were kidnapped."

"How do you know?"

"The village leader, Kimiyoshi-san, reported them missing."

I remembered Chie-sensei and the principal were about to tell him about what I said in school. He must have said he already knew about it and decided to get this village meeting together to inform all of Hinamizawa.

"He borrowed something from Rika-chan and went to return it. He heard the laughter from the girls; they were approaching the house from the road. He was going to greet them but they never came. He went down the road to find them, but he couldn't. He swore it was their voices he heard. He checked the bushes and the surrounding trees, believing they were trying to play a prank on him. He found Satoko's headband and Rika's sandals behind a bush."

My heart was beating fast. My eyes were beginning to widen.

"I heard this story from him yesterday when I met up with him. I went to the place where they were kidnapped and examined the area. I saw three sets of footprints. I saw Satoko's caused by her shoe, the other by Rika's, and then a pair that looked like they were caused by boots. They were small though. I didn't tell you before because I wanted to be sure about everything before I could mention it to you. I didn't want you to rush in and get a search party so soon; it would have screwed up the police's plans.

"I checked their house too. Their beds hadn't been slept in. The door of the house showed no signs of forced entry. Nothing was out of place. The house didn't have any essence of life in it since they left to play in Okinomiya with you guys.

"I'm getting more bad feelings about all this, but I have narrowed down my search! The culprit has to be someone who knows the area of the village like the back of their hand! They have to be someone who knows every inch and every shadow that Hinamizawa has! That's how Rika and Satoko were captured! The kidnapper had to know everything there was to know about the terrain!"

Akasaka was getting more excited as I became more afraid. My knees were shaking and sweat ran down my face. I was expecting the next set of words he was going to say. That was what I feared the most!

He looked me right in the eye. "The real culprit is living in Hinamizawa!"

The kidnapper was living in Hinamizawa the whole time? If what Akasaka said was true, than Kasai couldn't have been guilty! He lives in Okinomiya with Shion because of her job in Angel Mort, he takes care of her! Even if he was innocent, I still didn't forgive him. He left Rika and Satoko to walk in the dark. I didn't care if they were strong enough to take care of themselves! He should've stayed with them!

The kidnapper was in Hinamizawa. I couldn't get that out of my head. I was becoming increasingly concerned. If he was living in the village, then he could be anybody! If he was living in the village, who's to say he wasn't going to stop with just Satoko and Rika? There could be more victims! I felt nauseous. The lunch I had at Angel Mort was about to come up.

Akasaka dropped me off at the road next to my house. I exited the car and thanked him for the food and for keeping me in the loop.

"Keep an eye out for me, Maebara-san!" he said to me with his brow furrowed. "I still need all the help I can get, but you need to think sensibly before you act, okay? I'm counting on you!"

"I'll do everything I can!" I pounded my chest. It was false bravery. My soul was shaken and my fear took over my body. Despite that, I had to make Akasaka believe that I would help no matter what.

"Also…watch your back."

Those words made my body colder than it was. The thought of just anybody being the culprit frightened me. Everybody was a suspect now. I couldn't trust anyone but myself and my friends. I questioned what was true and what was false. I questioned the very peace we had won for Hinamizawa. All of our efforts to create a Hinamizawa absent of malicious entities were dashed when Satoko and Rika were demoned away by an unknown enemy. It wasn't over. It was never over.

It was a little after noon and I didn't feel like going to school today. My parents were at work so I had the house to myself. I locked the door right away. I found a note from them on the refrigerator. They said after work they were going straight to the village meeting Irie mentioned. The village leader must have contacted all of the adults in Hinamizawa. After reading the note, I threw myself down on the couch near the TV. I didn't turn it on. I didn't feel like doing anything but stay there, curled up into a ball.

The cicadas cried out to me. Their cry was sorrowful and filled with anguish. They were warning me. They were trying to tell me something important. I couldn't understand their plea.

I regretted getting into the car with Akasaka the other day. If I didn't, I wouldn't be involved in this mess. But was that really true? I was bound to find out at some point. There was no point in lamenting over the past. The point was that the enemy was in my village, under the guise of a normal person. My stomach was beginning to hurt again. The thought of that person looking at me, watching me, waiting to strike at me, waiting to kill me, made me shiver.

I was defenseless. I absolutely hated that feeling. I had to be brave. I couldn't cower in my house like this. I had to find this enemy and beat him. If I didn't find him and beat him, then how could I save my friends? I was so useless. Akasaka was doing his best and I barely did anything. I helped Shion and soothed Mion's weary mind, but I haven't made any progress in getting any closer to the missing girls. I had to find something to go on. Even if it was the smallest lead, Akasaka and I could follow it until we came to something bigger. But he didn't want me to be overzealous. I wanted to help, but all I could think about was getting my friends together and hunting this bastard down. That wouldn't do Akasaka any good. Why was I so useless? I couldn't do anything!

It was evening when I got off of the couch. My neck started to itch again. I applied the cream Irie had given earlier today and wrapped a fresh bandage around me. It relieved the awful feeling from me, but it didn't heal all of my wounds.

The doorbell to my house rang. I ignored it at first, but the bell was rung several more times in rapid succession. I washed my hands and went to the door. I unlocked the door and was about to take the chain off when the door flung open as far as it could go. I took a few steps back.

A girl wearing a white dress stood before me. "Keiichi-kun! How are you?"

It was Rena! She was a sight for sore eyes.

"Jeez! Don't scare me like that!" I scolded her. I had enough excitement today from Akasaka's deduction and I didn't need any more surprises.

"I'm sorry," Rena cast her eyes on the ground. "You weren't in school today so I got worried…"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. Something came up today so I skipped."

"I stopped by to come get you, but your mom told me you left for school early. When I didn't see you there, I got very concerned! Oh! Did something happen to you?" She pointed at my bandage. "Keiichi-kun, are you hurt?"

"This? Oh, it's nothing! I just had an allergic reaction to this cologne I tried out. I went to the clinic to get something for it."

"You wear cologne?" She was smiling at me. Her soft eyes stared at me. "Why didn't you come to school? If you went to just get medication for your allergies, you could have still come! Chie-sensei wouldn't have minded at all!"

"I-I was also feeling bad about…you know. I didn't feel like doing anything."

Rena was quiet. She kept smiling but she knew I was referring to Satoko and Rika.

"Keiichi-kun shouldn't try to carry the world on his shoulders! The police will find them! Yeah, I know it!"

I wanted to believe her, I really did. I know I said having hope was important, but fearing for the worst was getting the better of me. I had to calm down.

"Anyway, Rena," I said, realizing she was still outside. The door was the only thing between us. "Are you here to make sure I'm okay?"

"Uh-huh! Mii-chan wanted to come too, but she had to go to the meeting as a representative of the Sonozaki family. So I decided to come by myself and bring you a surprise!" She held up a pink lunchbox. "I made some dinner for you!"

"Dinner? You made dinner for me?"

"Yeah!" She giggled. "Everybody's parents are at the meeting right now, so everybody had to make their own dinner. I though Keiichi-kun might be hungry, since he can't cook so well! That's why I brought this!"

"Hey! I can cook just fine! Where do you get off talking to me like that?" I shook my fist at her playfully.

"Ahaha! Just kidding! May I come in, Keiichi-kun?" Rena was playing with the chain on the door with her fingers. "It'll just take a second to get ready!"

I remembered this…I remembered this happening before. Didn't Rena come by my house on one occasion with Mion to give me food because I missed school? Or did Rena come by herself and offer to make me dinner since my parents were out? This all seemed familiar, just like when I entered Akasaka's car, and when he took me to Angel Mort. Come to think of it, these experiences of déjà vu began when I first saw Akasaka at school.

"Keiichi-kun? Can I come in, please?" Rena continued to play with the chain on the door. She was still smiling sweetly at me. "Eat dinner with Rena!"

"Yeah, okay."

I unlocked the chair and opened the door fully. Rena danced in and twirled into the kitchen. She made me stay at the door until she was ready. After a few minutes, she invited me into the kitchen. I saw the pink lunchbox with two plates on the table. Rena sat in one seat and motioned for me to sit next to her. I obeyed and waited for the special treat she brought for me. I was starving!

"Are you ready?" She giggled again and opened up the lunchbox. "Tada~! This is Mii-chan's grandmother's special homemade ohagi!"

"Ohagi? Sounds tasty!" I noticed there were toothpicks in the ohagi with a white piece of paper on them. Each piece of paper had a letter on it, from A to E. "Rena? What's with the letters?"

"Mii-chan wanted to play a little game, but I'll carry it out for her in her absence! All of these are made by Mii-chan's grandmother, except for one. I made that certain one! Can you guess which one is mine? I wonder!" She closed her eyes and kept smiling at me.

I folded my arms and leaned back in my seat. "So, I just gotta pick yours and I win, right?"

"If you guess wrong, Rena has to give you a punishment!"

"Oh boy! That's just like Mion to try and torture me! I guess I'll have to pick wisely!" I looked at each of the ohagi and examined its texture, its color, and its smell. They all looked alike and smelled the same. I looked at the one with the letter E. That might be the one. I decided to give it a try. "I choose this one!"

I picked up the ohagi with the letter E. I removed the paper and held it up. Rena watched me as it approached my mouth. Before I took a bite, I hesitated. My head was playing tricks on me again. Don't tell me, I thought to myself. I sat there holding the ohagi, just looking at it. It was just food, right? Then why was I so afraid of it?

"Come on, Keiichi-kun! Eat, eat!" Rena clapped her hands. "It's not like Mii-chan and I put a needle or anything bad in it! Ahaha!"

That really bothered me. I was just thinking about a needle in the ohagi. That's what I was afraid of! But that didn't happen before! How could it happen? Rena never came over to my house with dinner, did she? If she did, I didn't remember it! Why did I remember things that never happened? Why was I so afraid to eat this ohagi? It was just food; Rena and Mion wouldn't pull a trick like sticking something dangerous in it! If it was just food, then I could eat it without having anything happen to me. I had to prove to myself that my mind was just delusional from grief.

I took a bite. My mouth stung. The feeling I had in my mouth was nothing like I ever felt before. I thought I was going to die. I thought I was going to die because it tasted so good!

"This is great!" I gave Rena my approval. "The flavor is perfect! You made this one, right?" My fears were all for naught.

"I'm impressed!" Rena clapped again. "Keiichi-kun did it!"

"I'd recognize your cooking anywhere! It's flawless!"

Rena blushed and put her hand to her mouth. "Well, I…um…hauuuu…"

"Now if only Satoko can cook as good as this!"

I wish I could've taken that back. I killed the mood with that one sentence. Rena stopped blushing and glanced at the floor. I was yelling at myself for saying something so stupid. The atmosphere felt perfect though. It was like Mion, Rika, and Satoko were with us. It felt just like a few days ago when we had lunch in school. My tongue slipped and I regretted it.

"I didn't mean to bring up-"

"It's okay," Rena grinned very weakly.

"I just miss them…"

"I do too."

I clenched my fists together. "What kind of monster would do that? It's horrible!"

Rena stayed silent.

"I hope somebody finds them soon. If not, I'll tear apart all of Hinamizawa until I find them!"

"…Keiichi-kun?"

I looked to her with my brow raised. "What's wrong?"

"There's another reason why I came tonight."

The air suddenly became acrid. It was getting difficult to breathe. The tone in Rena's voice was normal, but her smile was gone. The carefree Ryuugu Rena was no longer with me.

"It's about Mii-chan…"

"What about her?" My mind started jumping to conclusions. "Is she okay? What happened?"

"Mii-chan's fine, it's just…something I should have told you about before."

"What? You should have told me what?"

"It's not like I was trying to hide anything from you…I didn't mean to deceive you at all…"

"Dammit! What is it? What about Mion?" I started to shout. If something happened to another one of my friends, I wouldn't know what I would do. But Mion couldn't be missing. Rena said she was at the meeting! She was fine! Then why was she acting so mysterious about her?

Rena's eyes calmly met mine. They were blank, devoid of any sign of character.

"Mii-chan and Satoko have been fighting."


	3. Chapter 3: Confession

Chapter 3: Confession

Part A

My mind wasn't registering what Rena just said. My muscles were frozen stiff. My blood turned to ice and my eyes could not be taken off of Rena's calm but terrifying face. She said it so plainly. Mion and Satoko had been fighting. About what? What was it all supposed to mean?

"What…?" I replied dumbly.

"Mii-chan and Satoko have been fighting," Rena repeated in the same calm voice she used before. Her eyes were glued to mine.

None of it made any sense to me. Mion, Rika, Rena, Satoko, and I were the best of friends. We did everything together and never left each other out of the loop. We agreed on almost everything but we never fought each other. How come everything got turned upside so suddenly? It wasn't supposed to be like this!

Mion and Satoko were fighting. That was a lie. I never saw those two bicker or yell at each other. I never saw them fight and I never saw them act suspiciously around us. Rena didn't know what the hell she was talking about! That wasn't possible! Mion and Satoko couldn't have been fighting!

"That's a lie…" I muttered under my breath. I slammed my fists on the table. "That's a lie! How can you make up something like that?"

Rena was frightened. She stood up and backed away from the table, holding her hands up to her mouth. "Keiichi-kun! Calm down! You're scaring me!"

"Tell me the truth!"

"That is the truth, Keiichi-kun…" Rena peered at the floor.

"If it is, then why didn't I know about?"

"We didn't want to tell you. We were afraid to."

"Didn't want to tell me? What do you mean 'we?'"

Rena folded her hands and placed them over her lap. She was still standing, gazing at the floor like a child being punished by a parent. "Mii-chan and I."

I was hurt. I told them both of what happened to Rika and Satoko. I told them everything and never once hid anything from them. Then how come this was my reward? We were all friends. We weren't supposed to keep secrets anymore!

I was staring at the wood of the table and tightened my fists. "Why? Why did you hide this from me?"

"We were so happy together, all of us," I could hear Rena whimpering. "We fought so hard to live peacefully. We wanted this so much; you were always smiling and you were excited about spending time with us. You grew very close to Satoko, and Mii-chan saw that and didn't want you to think ill of her. She really cares a lot about what you think of her, Keiichi-kun. We didn't want you to know about what was going on. We were afraid our friendships would break apart."

The sound of Rena's crying hit me hard. My anger was justified, but what's is done. I released my fists and laid my hands flat on the table. When Rena saw me calming down, she sat next to me again. She played with her fingers, trying to think of what to say next.

"What was going on between them, Rena?" I asked as calmly as I could. I was still angry with her, but shouting wasn't going to solve anything.

"Um," Rena shifted her eyes from me to her hands a few times. "I promised Mii-chan I wouldn't say anything." She took a deep breath. "But, about a week ago, they got into such a feud. Mii-chan never told me the main details, but she said Satoko was threatening her."

"Threatening her?" I looked at Rena. What was that supposed to mean?

"Mii-chan called me one night and was hysterical. She was crying over something Satoko said to her. Satoko said she was threatening to tell you something. It's a big secret I think."

Mion never got upset over stupid things, but this secret had to big enough to make her so hysterical that Rena claimed her to be. Satoko was saying she was going to tell me something. What did that entail? Why was Rena being so cryptic?

"I don't know what it really is, but I may have a clue."

"What's your thought, then?" I asked.

Rena was awfully quiet. I was going to yell at her again, but that would only lessen my chances of figuring out what this secret was.

Rena's eyes met mine again. "She's been holding onto this for a real long time. You should hear it from her own mouth."

"Rena, please, what is it?" I was about to get on my hands and knees and beg her to tell me. It was eating away at me since she first mentioned it.

Rena smiled weakly. She rubbed the top of my hand with hers. Her soft skin made my spine tingle. It felt really good.

"You should already know." Rena stood up from her seat. "It's late. I should be going home now." She walked over to the door.

I got up too and tried to stop her, but she walked so quickly that she was already out the door. I stood at the door, watching her leave, when she turned around one last time.

"Keiichi-kun? Please don't tell her I told you about this, okay?" Her eyes flashed in the light.

I lay in my bed, glaring at the ceiling above me. Rena and Mion were hiding secrets from me. I couldn't excuse that. We were all friends, but why was everybody hiding something from me? If Rena knew about it, did Rika also know about it from Satoko? Why didn't she tell me either? Why was everyone betraying me?

Rena even asked me not to tell Mion she told me about this. But what was I not supposed to tell her? Rena didn't say anything to me! She never told me what this horrible secret was! Rena even said that I should know about what Mion was supposed to tell me. How was I supposed to know anything? If Mion cared so much about what I thought of her, then why was she hiding things? She knew she was always going to be my best friend. What was she afraid of?

I was also thinking about what Akasaka said about the culprit. He had to be somebody living in Hinzamizawa, he had to be somebody who knew every inch of the terrain, and it had to be someone who knew the perfect spot where to ambush Rika and Satoko. So not only did I have Mion to worry about, but I also had to worry about the enemy. Everyone in Hinamizawa was now a suspect.

A terrible thought entered my mind. I dismissed it right away, but what Rena said began to eat away at me again. Mion and Satoko were fighting. Wait a minute. No, that couldn't be true. It didn't make sense. She wasn't that kind of a person. She would never do anything like that.

Could Mion be the culprit? It was an insane idea. Mion was my best friend. She would never hurt one of her friends. She loved us. Why would she attack two of us? What could she have to gain by doing so?

Mion knew Hinamizawa inside and out. She knew where Satoko and Rika lived. She had been fighting with Satoko a week ago too. All of these facts assaulted my mind and broke my heart. I shook my head and tried not to think about it all. Mion was my friend. This had to be some misunderstanding. This argument she and Satoko had was probably nothing more than a stupid quarrel. Friends have fights, right? Friends have issues sometimes but they always work out in the end. But could a fight be so bad that it could make one friend attack another, maybe because of some secret? Could this same secret cause that friend to kill? No…it couldn't be true. It was impossible. My neck began to itch again.

I left home to go to school early again so my parents wouldn't see my neck. I waited a little bit beyond my house for Rena to come. After a while, she arrived. She spoke to me and acted like nothing happened the night before. She didn't say anything about Mion or Satoko, and she didn't remind me to keep my mouth shut. I didn't know anything to begin with, so what could I say about it?

We met Mion at her waiting spot. She teased us, calling us late. I said a hello, but I guess I was acting very awkward around her. Mion raised her brow at me. She inspected me to see if I was sick and questioned my neck. I gave her the lie I'd been telling everybody about. Rena watched me as I spoke. She was smiling like always, but her blue eyes didn't stop watching me. I was under her surveillance from the waiting spot to the school. She was watching my every move.

The school day went on as usual. Chie-sensei delivered her lecture and gave us free study afterwards. She looked tired. I could see the bags under her eyes. I guess the meeting lasted pretty late last night. I went up to bed after Rena left my house and didn't pay much attention to anything else. My parents came home late and they seemed pretty tired this morning when I saw them too. I guess the village leader had a lot of plans to discuss to the adults.

When the school day was over, Rena said goodbye to Mion and I. She said she had to clean her house since her father didn't get home until very late last night, the same story as my parents. I felt her cold eyes look at me as I plopped my head down on my desk. If she was trying to scare me to keep quiet, she was doing a good job. I was still upset about her and Mion keeping secrets from me, but that anger turned into fear when she began watching me. She was watching me during class too, I know it. That awful feeling when you know somebody's looking at you and you can't see them. Rena was probably still watching me now. If she was so concerned about me being quiet, then why did she bother telling me in the first place? At this point, I wished she never spoke to me about it.

"Kei-chan!" Mion spoke to me. She was standing at my desk with her hands at her hips. "Kei-chan!"

I looked up at her sleepily. I didn't sleep much last night either. I knew exactly how Chie-sensei, my parents, and Rena's father felt.

"Yeah, what?" I looked at her.

"You ok? You look like something's the matter." She leaned over to me provocatively. "Or is that this old man's body has totally bewitched you?"

She was sticking her chest out at me. I looked away, as if I didn't care. "I told you before: they're too big. I'm not interested."

"Oh yeah? Then how about this?" Mion grabbed my shoulders and pulled me to my feet. She then grasped my head and slammed my face right into her chest. "Take that! Puff Puff Attack!"

I managed to release myself from her clutches, with my face as red as an apple. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Ahaha!" Mion slapped my back hard. "It's so much fun to see Kei-chan so embarrassed! But then again, I'm sure you liked that!"

"No I didn't!" Of course I did.

"Suuuure!" Mion picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Hey, Kei-chan, you got any plans for today?"

"Me? No, I got nothing to do. Why?"

"Weeell," she snickered. "You wanna stop by my house today? I got this cool new comic book that came in the mail! I think you'll like it!"

My body froze up again. Whenever she mentioned having me over to read or borrow comic books, she really wanted to just talk. Was she going to tell me something about Satoko and Rika now? My heart was already heavy with so much pain, feelings of betrayal, and anger, that I couldn't take anymore news. I wanted this all to end. I wanted all of these feelings to go away.

I started to stutter. I couldn't think of a response to say to her. I was afraid of her. I was afraid of what she might do.

"Or are you busy?" Mion frowned. "If you can't, it's alright. Maybe some other time then…"

Mion wasn't responsible. I was letting Rena get the better of me. So what if Mion and Satoko fought? It had to be nothing! It was all just a misunderstanding! Mion couldn't have been the enemy. She was my best friend. She was the closest I've ever been with, next to Rena. Mion and I were like two sides of the same coin. I wasn't going to let Rena's news change that!

"I can come!" I succeeded in putting on a smile. It was genuine; I knew Mion was innocent and I trusted her completely. "I'd love to!"

Mion was taken aback at my sudden smile and tone. I guess I sounded very excited because she turned her face away from me. She turned to show me her back. "Then let's go!" She laughed and ran out of the classroom. I followed after her.

We were walking along the road to her house. Mion cracked a few jokes here and there and we laughed. I felt great around her. My fears subsided now. Mion always made me happy, even when she made my life hell in the club activities; she always put a smile on my face.

As we were walking, I noticed she got closer and closer to me. We were at least fourteen inches from each other, but she closed the gap after a while. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see her. I saw a bright smile on her face. Was she really happy that I wanted to come over to her house? She held her bag in front of her with both hands. I thought I heard her hum a song too. I think it was just my imagination though.

We arrived at Mion's house sooner than I remembered. I hadn't been there in a while so I guess I forgot how far it was from the school. Mion led me into her living room and opened up a door that revealed a majestic view of one of the house's gardens. She dropped her bag and went to get some tea for us.

Mion was acting so nice. I was wondering what it was all for. She knew about how I missed school the other day. Maybe she thought I was really sick and did this to try to make me feel better. It didn't matter to me though; I got to spend time with her. This was exactly what I needed. I needed to know Mion was still my best friend.

She returned shortly with two cups of tea on a small tray. She handed me one and sat in front me with hers. "This is my special tea!" She said proudly. "It'll treat any ailment imaginable!"

"Is that so?" My neck was still itching, so I strongly hoped that the tea would stop it. It tasted like the nectar of the gods. It made my body feel warm all over and it soothed my throat. It was just the remedy I needed. "You made this?"

"Uh-huh!" She laughed a little. "It's actually my grandma's recipe. She's been teaching me how to make it. She's not around today, since she's in the city on business, so she wasn't there to make sure I did right. I think I may have ruined it."

"Tastes fine to me!" I smiled at Mion. Her face turned light red. "So, Mion. You wanted to talk?"

"Oh, ahaha! You remembered our code, huh?" Mion kept smiling at me. "I wanted to see if you're feeling better! You had me worried when you didn't come to school."

"I'm sorry." I scratched at my head. "I had a lot of stuff on my mind. I just didn't feel like coming."

Mion knew what I really meant. "You know, the meeting went by well. Old man Kimiyoshi's getting search parties together to look for Rika and Satoko. He's going to do everything he can so we can put an end to this."

"…That's good." I held my cup in my hand and swirled the tea around.

"I…I wonder how they're doing…"

Mion sounded sad. That was my proof. She was innocent. There was no reason why Mion shouldn't be sad. She loved her friends. I sound like a broken record, but it was true. This secret or whatever she and Satoko fought about, it wouldn't make Mion do something despicable.

"Hey, drink up." Mion pointed at my cup. "That stuff's gonna make you feel better!"

I took another gulp, as if to drown all of my fears and all of my worries.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" She grinned at me evilly. "Did Rena give you the ohagi?"

Her name made me twitch. "Yeah. The ohagi she made was the one with the letter E on it, right?"

"Correct!" Mion applauded for me. "You're getting better at these activities! Uncle Mion approves!"

We shared a hearty laugh. I took another swig of my tea and remembered something myself.

"How's Shion?" I asked.

"She's taking a nap right now, actually." Mion said happily. "She's been feeling a lot better since you visited her. She doesn't stop talking about you. It's kinda creepy!"

"What's she been saying?"

"She said how you came over and took care of her. She said you cooked her some food and played a few games with her to make her feel better. I think she's crazy; Kei-chan can't cook! Ahaha!"

Shion was lying, but at least she left out the fact that she attacked me. I didn't want Mion to have to worry about her sister anymore, or about me. I could handle myself and I knew that Shion was just feeling angry about the kidnapping. There was nobody to blame.

"I'm happy she's fine! I was worried about her."

Mion looked into her tea. "You've been doing way too many nice things for me, Kei-chan. The teddy bear, looking after Shion for me. You're too nice." She sounded guilty.

"Well, you've done plenty of things for me too, so I wanted to return the favor!" I smiled warmly at her again.

She smiled at me too. Her eyes stared into mine. Her smile was getting wider and wider with every second that passed by. Seeing her like that made me happy. It eased my worries and lifted my spirits. Being with Mion was just what I needed.

"Hey, Kei-chan? Would you…like to take a walk with me?"

"Uh, sure! That'd be nice!"

We finished the rest of our tea and we stepped outside. The sun was shining brightly and the air was fresh. The sun warmed my body filled me with joy. It shined down on the flowers that filled the garden with vibrant colors and cascading beauty. It brought them to life. This place was a piece of paradise. Mion was very fortunate to have such a majestic place to live. To see the sun rise, the flowers bloom, and to hear the sound of nature emanating from her gardens. It was great. I didn't want to leave from there.

We walked along a pathway with a little stream beside us. A few butterflies passed by, fluttering in the cool breeze. Mion moved closer to me again.

"Can I…can I hold your arm?" She asked, trying not to look at me.

"I guess so," I said, with my voice cracking.

She took hold of my arm. Her skin was as soft as Rena's, maybe even softer. Her fingers wrapped around me and I felt her chest rubbing against me. Her fingers brushed against my skin as me walked. It was enough to make me go crazy. I didn't know Mion was like this. I knew she liked girly things, despite her appearance as a tomboy, but I didn't know she liked these kinds of walks.

She rested her head against my shoulder. Her finger was rubbing against my arm again. Her other hand moved down my arm and touched my wrist. The sensation of her hand sliding down my arm sent shivers up my back. I nearly jumped. I could smell her hair. It smelled like Shion's, but this scent was much more enticing. I heard her exhale slowly and happily. She seemed so comfortable. She could take a nap if she stayed liked this. I wouldn't mind if she did that. I welcomed it.

Our walk was cut short when we approached a large rusty gate. This was the gate leading down below the Sonozaki house to the torture chambers. Beyond that was the secret tunnel we used to go into the mountains a month ago. The mountains, I could recall, were just as breathtaking as the gardens here. An idea hit me.

"Mion? Why don't we use the tunnel here and go into the mountains for a little while? It'll be fun!"

"You really want to?" She looked at the door. "You don't want to go through there…"

"It's the quickest way, right? We can reach the mountains in no time! Plus, I'm not supposed to be home until later so we have plenty of time to hang out."

"But…"

"You wanted to make sure I was okay today? I think the mountain air will do me good!"

Mion was unsure about the idea. She didn't want the mood to be ruined by a short trek through the chambers. I saw them before and wasn't scared all that much. I knew who Mion was and I knew she wouldn't use these chambers for anything. She was a good person. There was nothing that was going to frighten me or ruin my image of her.

"Alright then," Mion said after much pondering. "I'll go get some snacks and I'll meet you at the ladder to the tunnel okay? Be careful!" She released my arm and ran back to the house.

I opened the gates and descended the stairs. The sunlight disappeared and I was now in the dark and dank chambers. I opened a few more doors and came to a room of tools. I saw hooks, scythes, nails, and hammers. There was wooden cross off to the side with restraints for the wrist and for the fingers of its victim. This must have been one of the places where people had the original Watanagashi. This and the Furude shrine.

My eyes examined the tools and the cross. All of that was in the past now. Nobody used these things anymore. That kind of Watanagashi was over now. That was part of Onigafuchi. This was Hinamizawa now. This was the not the land of demons anymore. There was only one demon though, the bastard who took Rika and Satoko from me. But we were after him. We knew about him and the village leader gathered all of Hinamizawa to fight him. This was a declaration of war. This new Hinamizawa wasn't going to see anymore evil.

I passed through the chambers and came to the prison. From there, I arrived at the ladder to the secret tunnel. I remembered how we used this to escape those Yamainu thugs. I really wished there was another faster route into the mountains, but this was the only way. I had to suck it up and get moving. I know I said I was going to wait for Mion here, but I wanted to climb down to remind myself just how far down the tunnel was.

I climbed down the ladder. It was cold to the touch and it seemed to go on forever. Luckily there was a lamp looking down so I can see. Somebody must have installed the lamp after what happened last month. It was a good installment! I thanked whoever did that!

I came to the bottom of the ladder. I hopped off of it and let my feet touch the ground. It felt squishy. It wasn't like the hard ground in the chambers, this felt like mud. I shifted my feet around in it. It was odd that mud was here.

I took a step. I heard something break. It sounded like a bone being snapped in two. It made me feel uncomfortable. What was it that I was stepping on? I looked down.

My body shook. My eyes were locked onto what I was seeing. My mouth was agape. I tried to speak but I was mute. The sight before me made my bones ache, it turned my stomach into knots, and it set my brain on fire. I was looking at a person whose hair was bathed in crimson waters with her eyes looking into mine, and the another person whose arms and head were sliced open too. She looked up to me with cold and dark eyes. Drool and blood was dripping from the sides of her mouth. I knew these girls. My voice returned; I screamed louder and cried harder than I ever had done before.

Part B

I scampered up the ladder as quick as a flash. I reached the top and tried to run but I tripped. The cold ground hit my face hard. I heard a voice call out to me as I lay there on the ground. It was Mion. She stood above, looking puzzled. How can she fake that? She had to know what was at the bottom of that ladder!

"Kei-chan!" she gasped. "What's wrong with you?" She reached out to me.

I feared her touch. I crawled away like a wounded animal. "Don't touch me! Don't you touch me!"

"What's gotten into you? Why're you so paranoid?"

"Don't act like you don't know!" I shouted at her. I was enraged. "What are they doing down there?"

"What're you talking about, Kei-chan?" She really didn't know? She had to know! She just had to! She moved over to the ladder, after seeing me tremble at the sight of it. She grabbed the lamp and increased the brightness of it. She peered down until she saw the very bottom. She held her mouth and slowly backed away from the ladder. "Oh my…" I saw her arms and knees shake.

I was frantically looking at her and at the lamp's light. Their faces were seared into my brain. Their looks of horror, pain, and anguish made up their faces. Mion must have felt the same way. But why would she feel that way?

Mion looked at me. She saw afraid of her I was. She saw my body shake and how my pupils were dilated. "Kei-chan…what are you…?"

"Why? Why do you do this?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you kill Rika and Satoko?" I hollered.

Mion was horrified at my accusation. Her body was trembling even more. "Keiichi…you think I did this?"

"Who did it? Was it you? Kasai? Who was it?"

Mion turned away from me. "…Kasai's innocent…"

"Then you did it!"

"I didn't kill them!" Mion looked back at me with tears in her eyes. "You have to believe me, I didn't!"

"That's a lie!" I finally stood up. I was walking towards her. As I did, she was retreating back into the walls of the prison chamber we were in. "I know about it! I know all about it! You killed them! You killed them and you dumped their bodies here! You didn't think anybody was going to find them! That's why you were so hesitant to come through here!"

"Keiichi…"

"I know why you did this." Her back hit the wall, but I still continued my approach. "It's because of Satoko right? You were fighting with her last week, weren't you? You were fighting about something awful. It must have been so bad that you wanted her dead! You waited for them to come home that night and you killed them! You murdered them!"

Mion was sobbing.

"And what about Rika? What did she ever do to you? Was it to shut her up? Was it to keep her quiet! Answer me! Mion!"

Mion fell to her knees and continued crying. I stopped my walk and stood over her. I was scratching at my neck again. Mion wailed and fell on her side. "Keiichi…please…believe me…"

I scratched at my bandage furiously. The itching was driving me mad.

"I didn't do this…please…"

"If you didn't do it then why are they here? Why are they here at your home?"

"Somebody…somebody's trying to frame me…"

I spat at that lie.

"Please, believe me!" She cried out me. She was shrieking at me.

I had what I needed. Rika and Satoko's corpses were here. Mion killed them. Akasaka had to know. I had to tell him what I discovered here.

I turned away from Mion and I was walking towards the exit to the torture chamber. I heard her mumbling to herself.

"How did you know…we were fighting…? How did you…? Wait. Now I understand. I understand everything now."

I looked over my shoulder. Mion was back on her feet. She was clenching her fist. She was doing it so tightly that the palm was beginning to bleed. Her nails penetrated her skin.

"That bitch…that Rena…she promised me she wouldn't tell you...! She told you everything, didn't she? It's all ruined now…because of her! That's it! I'm definitely gonna kill her…!"

Mion's eyes were red from crying, but I could see the serpent's vermillion gaze emitting from them. When I saw that, I fled from the torture chamber out into the garden.

I ran from the garden. I ran down the road from the Sonozaki house. I ran for so long that my legs started to hurt. I fought through the pain, however. The second I would stop to rest, Mion would be right behind me, trying to kill me. I trusted her. I believed she was my friend. And yet, she murdered my friends. What possessed her to do his?

I arrived at my house and locked the door. My parents weren't home yet. It was getting close to sundown. I picked up one of my father's golf clubs and hid in my room. I sat against the wall, holding on to the grip of the club for dear life. I was waiting for Mion to burst into my house and try to kill me. I wasn't going to let her!

I started to sob. I trusted Mion with my life. She was my best friend, the one person I felt closer to in all of Hinamizawa. Why would she kill Satoko? Why would she kill Rika? Whatever they fought about, I didn't care anymore. The only thing on my mind was Mion, holding a knife, stabbing and slashing at them. Making them bleed, breaking their bones, and torturing them. I felt like I was going to vomit.

Rena was trying to warn me. She told me about Mion and Satoko to make me aware of what Mion was capable of. Did Rena know about the murders and was threatened to keep quiet, or else she would be the next to die? All this time, I was afraid of Rena when I should have been afraid of Mion. Akasaka had to know. I had to tell him so he could arrest Mion. I had to put a stop to this.

I grabbed the nearest phone and dialed his number. It took forever for him to pick up.

_"Hello, Okinomiya precinct?"_

"Akasaka-san!"

_"Maebara-san? What's wrong? You sound out of breath!"_

"I know who kidnapped Rika-chan and Satoko!"

_"Are you serious? Who did it?"_

It hurt me to say it. It killed me to finally say it. "It was Mion! She's behind everything!"

_"Sonozaki Mion? Are you sure?"_

"Yes, yes! I was just at the house! I found their bodies in a secret tunnel! It's in the torture chamber in the main garden of the Sonozaki house!"

Akasaka was quiet for a solid minute. He must have been aching when he heard the sorrowful news. If he burst into tears right now, I wouldn't blame him. I now knew he really did have a strong connection to Rika.

"Akasaka-san? There's something else to. I think she might try to kill me or Ryuugu Rena next! Rena's the one that tipped me off about Mion!"

_"I-I-I'll send some officers over to guard you and Ryuguu-san. Just stay put and don't do anything stupid. I'm on my way to the Sonozaki house right now!"_

I hung up the phone after giving my condolences and thanks. Later in the evening, I told my parents about what was happening and they were astonished, as much as I was. They couldn't believe a nice girl like Mion would kill anybody. Parts of me wanted to believe she was innocent, but the evidence was right there. Rika and Satoko were at the bottom of that ladder, near the tunnel. Even if she tried to carry them somewhere else, the police would find her red-handed. It was all over.

I sat in my room that night, still holding the golf club. My parents were still up, talking with a police officer. I sat there, staring at the phone. I was waiting for the word that Akasaka caught Mion. I needed to hear those words. I needed to know that Rena and I were going to be fine.

I was going to be next, if not Rena. I was worried about her as well. I heard Mion say she was going to kill her. I hope that Akasaka would stop her before that. I knew he said he was going to send some men over to protect her as well, but I was still worried for her. Rena was all that I had left. She was the only person I could trust now.

I heard a footstep as I sat there in the shadows of my room. It was faint, but I could hear it. It was Mion, she was here to kill me! I know she was! I heard her approach the door to my room. I didn't see anything standing behind my door, but I knew someone was there. Someone was watching me, waiting to attack me.

I didn't move from my spot. I had my club ready to strike whoever entered my room. I wasn't going to die. I wasn't going to allow myself to be killed! Just as I was thinking about charging whoever was at my door, the footsteps vanished. I didn't hear them anymore. I furiously scratched at my neck again. That medicine wasn't working. The itch kept getting worse, but I couldn't worry about that. I had to protect myself from Mion!

I didn't go to school the next day. I stayed home, holding my golf club. I stayed in my room all morning. While my parents went to work, an officer sat in my living room keeping watch. He and my club were all that was between me and death. The doorbell rang. The officer looked through the peephole on the door and sighed in relief. I heard him and another man talking for a moment.

"Maebara-san? Are you here?"

It was Akasaka! He came here to give me the good news! Mion was caught!

I dashed down the stairs with my club still in hand. I met Akasaka and the officer in my living room. "Akasaka-san! You're here!"

Akasaka looked at my appearance. I was sweaty and my hair was greasy. He was shocked. "Are you okay, Maebara-san? You look awful! And what's with the golf club?"

"I'm fine, don't worry!" I was smiling strangely at him. I was happy he was here. He was going to tell me that everything was going to be fine, that I wouldn't have to worry about anything.

"Have you been up all night? You-"

"Have you found her?" I was shouting. "Have you found Mion?"

Akasaka gestured to my couch. I sat on one end and he sat on the other. "We checked out the house last evening an hour after you called." He choked up a little, but he tried his best to stay professional. "We found Rika-chan and Satoko-chan."

"I'm really sorry," I said as I was calming down. "What…are you gonna do with them?"

"We want to run a few tests to see exactly how they died. We couldn't find a murder weapon, you see. We checked the whole premises but we couldn't anything."

"What about Mion?" My heart was beating fast again. "You did find her, right?"

Akasaka grunted. "She got away."

The cry of the cicadas outside my house was all I could hear after he said that. They cried a painful dirge, a dirge for my Rika and my Satoko. They cried loudly enough for all of Hinamizawa to hear them.

"She…got…away…." I couldn't accept that. I couldn't accept that Mion was still around, free to kill anybody else.

"I suspect she used the secret tunnel to escape to the mountains. Some men of mine checked the immediate area of those mountains, but nothing came up. We didn't find a footprint, and weapon, anything. She just vanished!"

I was more furious than I ever was before. Mion robbed me of my happiness, my friends, and my life. She ruined everything. Hinamizawa was never going to be the same again for me.

"There has to be something," I uttered.

"We're still searching, Maebara-san. Something's bound to turn up! I got men combing the mountains and practically every place in the village. I even got people in Okinomiya looking for her just in case."

I thought about Shion. "Shion! What about her? She was in the house, wasn't she?"

Akasaka nodded. "She was. She was taking a nap in her room when she heard us storm the place. She questioned me what was going on, and after I found…you know…I told her. The poor thing didn't say a word. She just slumped to the floor. She didn't even move from that spot."

As I feared, Shion was broken again. I didn't think I was going to be able to heal her wounds this time. Her sister was a murderer and Satoko and Rika were dead. I didn't know how she was ever going to be the same again. Her smile was lost forever and her remnants of Satoshi were gone. We were both in a hell we couldn't escape from.

"It's not over yet, Maebara-san!" Akasaka placed his hand on my shoulder. "We can still end this! I'm not giving up until Mion is captured! I have to avenge Rika-chan and Satoko-chan!"

I slowly nodded to him, keeping my mouth closed and my eyes on my golf club.

"I'll call you if anything else turns up, okay? This officer will guard you until your parents get home. Ryuugu Rena-san has an officer staying with her so you shouldn't worry about her. Be careful, alright? Try to take it easy until I call you." With that Akasaka stood up and left my house.

I tried not to fall asleep that night, but I couldn't help it. My parents were home and another cop came around to protect us, so I felt some comfort. I haven't slept well in days and I had to be awake in case anything happened. The cold shower I took a few hours ago woke me up, but it didn't make up for the amount of sleep I lost. I did succumb to my desires though. My eyes shut and I felt asleep for a little while.

A sudden ping came from my window. I jumped up and my eyes were shot open. I slowly walked towards the window. My heart was pounding and my mind was fully alert. I pushed back the curtain and gasped. There was Mion! She was throwing rocks at my window!

She was standing there with a small friendly grin on her face. That pissed me off. She was smiling because she thought she was going to get away with it. I wouldn't allow that to happen. I had her right outside my window. I wasn't going to let her escape. I held onto my golf club tightly and decided what I was going to do.

I climbed out of my window. Once I got outside, onto my lawn, I walked out into the road where Mion was. She had her hands behind her back and that grin was still on her face. Not for long, I told myself. I stood a few feet from her, with my club at my side.

"Hi, Kei-chan," she said lowly.

"Why're you here?" I responded coldly.

She cast a look to the ground. "I-I just came to say goodbye before I go away for a while."

I was resisting the urge to attack, trying to think of how to subdue her without fail.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry…" She looked back at me. Her eyes were tearing up again. "I'm sorry for everything I've done to you. I didn't mean for all of this to happen. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt my loved ones…"

"It's a little late for that!" I pointed my club at her. "You think apologizing is gonna bring Satoko back to me? You think apologizing is gonna make Rika smile again? Don't you dare try to insult their memory! Don't you dare try to make this up to me! That secret or whatever you're holding is the cause of all this!"

Mion took a step forward with her hands in the open. They were empty, but I took a battle stance with the club.

"Don't move!"

"Kei-chan," she said sweetly. "I regret killing them, really I do. But there's something else I regret the most."

"I said don't move!" I swung the club to the side to try to scare her off.

She kept walking towards me, slowly, with her hands extended towards me. "I wanted to see you one last time before I turned myself in to the police. I want to repent for all the sins I've done."

"What you've done is unforgiveable…" I felt tears beginning to form in my eyes too. This person looked like Mion, sounded like Mion, but I knew it wasn't. It was a demon. It was a demon trying to fool me.

"I wanted to tell you one thing before I go." She stopped walking when she was a foot away from me.

"Which is…?" I kept the club pointed at her.

"I never had the courage before…and I know I really screwed up, so I know you won't accept me, but I have to tell you this before I go."

She gently moved the club aside. I raised it up at a different angle to strike her and knock her out, but instead of the attack I was expecting, she embraced me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and caressed my back. She placed her ear on my chest to hear my heart beat.

I lowered the club and looked down at her head. "Mion…?"

"Keiichi," she whispered. Her emerald eyes met mine. They glistened in the moonlight. "I love you."

Before I could do anything, she kissed me. Her tender lips pressed into mine softly and sweetly. She kissed me slowly and passionately for a few minutes. My eyes were open the whole time. Her hands traveled up and down my back and she even held my face at one point. I felt the tip of her tongue enter my mouth. It touched mine. When she finished, she rested her head against my shoulder.

I dropped the club. I held her now. Something took control of me and held her close to me. I didn't know what it was. Maybe I did like her back, or maybe I was just absorbed in the moment. I had no idea. My mind was more screwed up than it was before. I was about ready to hit her, I hated her, I wanted to kill her, but now I was hugging her. All I knew was that Mion loved me.

"I'm sorry I never told you before. I was so scared you'd never accept me. I have nothing to lose now, so I figured I should tell you before I go to prison…"

"Mion…" Her name escaped from my mouth. I was crying again. My whole mind and heart was in such confusion. I didn't know what I was doing or why I did what I did. I hated her for what she did, but why was I holding her like this? Did I…love her too?

She kissed my neck a few times and then she kissed my cheek. She whispered in my ear before she kissed it. "I love you, Keiichi…"

I was quiet, but I held her even closer.

She giggled. "I did it. I did something she could never do in a million years…I did something she could never do…"

"Mion? What did you say?" I didn't understand her properly. What was she saying?

"You idiot…that's all you had to do! Hahaha, it's that easy…!"

"Mion?"

Her warm body trembled in my arms. "Now that that's settled…why don't I just kill this guy so he can join you…!"

I spoke her name once more, but I my body went limp. I heard a buzzing and crackling sound behind me. The back of my neck felt a terrible pain. I fell into Mion's grasp and then my whole world went black.


	4. Chapter 4: Demon

Chapter 4: Demon

Part A

My eyes twitched. I slowly opened them. My vision was blurry and I had a splitting headache. The back of my neck stung as well. I felt like crap.

When my eyes adjusted, I noticed where I was. I was in the torture chamber of the Sonozaki house. I was in the room which held all of the torture equipment. Scythes, hooks, spears, and prongs surrounded me. The tools glimmered in the dim light of the chamber. They gazed upon me with menacing looks. They wanted to sink their blades into me. They wanted to hear my cries of aguish and sorrow. Why was I here? How did I get here?

That's right; Mion came by my house to talk. She tricked me with her words laced with honey and with her soft luscious lips. It was my own fault for falling for such a stupid ruse. Because of my stupidity, I was dragged back into this place. I was taken back to this layer of hell.

I tried to sit up from the ground I was lying on. I couldn't move. I looked to my hands, my feet, and my neck. I was held down by restraints. I was on the wooden cross that I saw when I came here not too long ago. That was when I discovered Mion's crime, when I discovered the awful truth.

The doors to the chamber opened. A small light entered the room for only a brief moment before the doors closed. Mion entered. She was smiling mischievously at me as she saw me squirm on the cross. She was entertained by my desperate struggling. Mion stood in front of me, just chuckling at my pitiful state.

"You're awake," she said with a sneer. "Good!"

"Mion, what the hell is going on?" I yelled at her. My throat was hurting. The restraint around my neck was crushing me.

"We're gonna have a little fun, Kei-chan!" Mion licked her lips. "I have a wonderful activity I'd love for you to participate in!"

I coughed. "Let me go! Akasaka's gonna know that I'm missing and he's gonna find you!"

"I wouldn't worry about that, kukuku! The cops are gone from my home and there's no evidence of where you've gone to, along with myself! You're all mine now!" Mion snickered again.

I tried to clench my fists and break free of my metal restraints, but my fingers were also held captive. I couldn't move a muscle at all.

"Now then, what fun tool should I use first? Kukukuku! Maybe this hook? This scythe? Or maybe this knife? I just can't decide! Hahahaha!"

"Mion!" I shouted. "Why are you doing this? I never did anything to you!"

"Mion?" Mion looked at me confused. Had she not been listening to me call her name this whole time? "Oh! That's right! I forgot I was wearing her clothes for a second!" Mion untied the ribbon that held her ponytail. Her hair fell across her back.

I didn't believe my eyes. This whole time, the person who confessed her love to me wasn't the person I thought she was.

"Tadaa~!" The demon sang. "It's me, Shion!" She giggled playfully at me.

My pupils dilated. That was Shion? She visited me last night? Then…where the hell was Mion? What happened to her?

"You look surprised, Kei-chan!" Shion danced over to me. She drew circles on my chest with her finger. She looked down at me. I saw her vermillion eyes glow.

"Sh-Shion…? What are you…? Why are you…?" Her eyes captivated me. I was memorized by the rich green and by the reptilian appearance of them. I could see a lot of pain in her eyes. I saw fury, pain, sorrow, and joy all at once.

"Hahaha," she laughed darkly. "You're so predictable, Kei-chan! I didn't think I was going to be able to trick you so well! But you played right into my arms! Kukuku!"

"You…"

"That's right! I visited you last night!" She stepped away from and hugged herself. "I posed as Mion and confessed my 'love' for you and took you here to my beautiful home! I wanted to play with you! I hope you don't mind!"

"Why?"

"Why? Because it's fun!" She revealed her canines to me. He teeth grinded together and her eyes glowed again. Her venomous tongue licked the corners of her mouth again.

"Why do you have me pinned to this thing? What the hell's going on?"

"You really don't know?" Shion walked back over to me. Her face was a few inches from mine. "You're so clueless, Kei-chan…"

I blinked at her. "What're you babbling about?"

She threw her head back and cackled. "Listen to you! Dumb until the very end! I love it, I love it! Nyahaha!"

She threw her fist into my stomach. I coughed and spat mucus to my side.

"You lied to me…" Her evil grin shifted into a scowl. "You lied to me when you were supposed to be my friend."

I looked at her confused.

"You said you wouldn't stop until you found Rika and Satoko, you were going to save them. You were going to make the culprit pay. Didn't you say that?"

"…I did…" I managed to say, despite the pain in my stomach.

"I trusted you. I really trusted you, and what do you do? You stabbed me in the back!" She punched me again, but harder this time. "You didn't keep your promise! You let them die!"

"I didn't…I didn't let anybody…die…"

"LIAR!" She punched me repeatedly. I coughed up a little bit of blood. "Rika and Satoko are dead! It's all because of you! I found their corpses here! I found them in that tunnel over there!" She pointed to the prison chambers, where the ladder led to the secret tunnel.

"Are you out of your mind?" I said, spitting out some blood from my mouth. "I didn't do anything to get them killed! I did my best to find them! I never abandoned them!"

Shion looked at me blankly. She walked over to the side of the room. She flicked a switch. The room got a little brighter. I looked to where Shion was standing. I saw a person slumped over on the floor. The person was a girl. She was covered in bruises and blood. Cuts were all across her body and a deep gash was in her chest. I knew that girl.

"That's funny," Shion said lowly. "Sis said she wasn't responsible for their deaths either."

"Mi-Mion?" The girl was no doubt Mion. Her hair was done up in her traditional ponytail and she was still in her school outfit, only it was torn up. She lay still on the floor. She didn't move when I said her name. Her blood formed small streams that flowed all across the torture chamber. "Wait…is she…"

"She was alive yesterday. Poor girl kept calling your name!" Shion's smile returned. "What an idiot! She really thought you were going to help her! What an imagination she had!"

My face grew ashen and I felt sick.

"Eh? What's with that look, Kei-chan? You don't look so good!"

I cried out in a loud roar. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen! Mion wasn't supposed to die! Why was this happening? Mion was supposed to be arrested by Akasaka and that was it! Why did she have to die?

Shion came over to me again. She rested her hand on my cheek. She was smiling sweetly at me. "It's all your fault. You could have saved them, but you didn't. You promised me you would do everything to try and save them, but here you were, doing nothing at all to help them."

"All of Hinamizawa was supposed to look for them!" I yelled as I tried to break free of my restraints. "You know I love them both! I would never abandon them! I did all that I could! I followed what Akasaka told me to do! I never stopped caring for them!"

Shion's nails dug into my cheek.

I winced in pain and tried to turn away from her.

"Not gonna take responsibility for what you've done, huh?" Shion took her hand back and picked up a hammer from the table near her. She also picked up a long nine inch nail. "We're going to play a little game, Kei-chan. I'm going to drive each of these nails into every joint of your fingers. After that, I'm going to drive some more nails into the joints of your toes. And finally, I'm going to take the last nail and I'm going to drive it right into your chest. Sound like fun?"

"Shion, please…don't do this."

Shion smiled at my plea. She laughed. "Let's start shall we?" She sat at the side of the cross and scratched the palm of my right hand with her fingernail gently. "You know what's funny? I feel like I've done this sort of thing before, but I know I haven't. It feels very strange."

Shion had déjà vu like I was having before? I thought I was the only one who was experiencing it. I looked at her. That smile was still plastered on her face. She kept saying that I abandoned my friends, but what did she really mean? I did everything I could to find Satoko and Rika. I never stopped worrying about them. I followed my judgment and didn't cause any problems for the police. Could I have done something different?

"How do I know you weren't working with Mion?"

"I wasn't! I didn't know she killed them! I had no idea about anything she was doing!"

Shion stared at me. She was trying to see if I was lying or not. "You teased Satoko a lot though."

"We were only playing, I told you already! That's what we do! I never had any bad feelings towards her!"

Shion lowered her head.

"Why would Mion kill them?"

"I don't know! All I know was that she and Satoko got into a fight a week ago!"

Shion turned her body to fully face me. "Rena told you, didn't she? She promised she wasn't going to, but I guess you were bound to find out at some point. So yeah, that's right. They were fighting."

"You knew?" Shion was hiding this from me too? Why would she do that?

"Of course I did! Satoko told me about it!"

If that was true, then Shion knew everything about the quarrel. She must have known the secret that Satoko was holding over Mion!

"What were they fighting about?" I dared to ask.

Shion's smile deteriorated. "…You…"

"What about me?"

"Haha. I just gave you the biggest clue last night." Shion climbed on top of me. She sat on my waist and she still held her hammer and nails. "Mion loved you."

"She…really…did?" I was dumbfounded. All this time I thought of her as my best friend, while she thought of me as something more. I never noticed it. When we were walking together, I thought we got caught up in the moment, I didn't really think she loved me at all. It didn't matter now, though. Mion was dead, killed by her sister's hand.

Shion nodded. "She did. She really did. I knew she did for the longest time, that's why I always teased you when she was around. I always busted her chops because of that." She laughed lightly. "Satoko found out somehow. She started the fight with a joke; she played around saying that she was going to tell you that Mion loved you. Mion got so furious, you see. She wanted to be the one to tell you, she wasn't going to let anybody ruin that for her. She got so hysterical because she thought Satoko was going to tell you. She called Rena and Rena told me about it. Rena, Rika, and I kept quiet because we knew it was just a misunderstanding and thought it was going to blow over. We didn't want you to worry about it all."

I thought for a second. "Is that why Mion killed them, since she was so worried that she wasn't going to be the one to tell me?

"Looks that way, but who really knows?" Shion sighed.

"And what do you mean that it was a misunderstanding? Rena never told me that!"

"Eh? She didn't tell you that? That's odd." Shion ran a hand through her hair. "I was sure she would have told you all the details."

"No…she didn't…" I was thinking hard about all of this.

"Everything did blow over though. Mion and Satoko made up. They forgave each other and everything went back to normal. That's why they had so much fun at the homerun faceoff. Rena didn't tell you that either?"

What in the world was going on? Why didn't Rena tell me that they made up? What…what the hell was happening?

"Anyway, I guess we'll never know why these unfortunate events happened." Shion shook her head. "Sis never told me the truth about anything, even when I tortured her. She kept saying she would never hurt Rika or Satoko, and that she wouldn't gain anything from killing them. She said she put the fight behind her. All lies if you ask me."

My heart was breaking into pieces and the last part of it shattered when Shion said that. She said it so plainly, like it was no big deal.

"I heard you two yelling at each other. After you ran out of here, I found the bodies. It was right there that I knew Sis had to have killed them. She killed them and stuffed their bodies here so nobody would ever find them. She lied about putting the fight behind her.

"I loved Satoko like she was my own…and Sis killed her out of some stupid misunderstanding. She got so paranoid and killed her." Shion tightened her grip on her hammer. "She killed her so she could just confess her feelings for you…a worthless human being. It's because of you that she killed Satoko and then Rika to keep her quiet. It was because of you that they're dead, don't you see?"

That wasn't true. I wasn't responsible. Mion killed them, I didn't. It wasn't my fault. I wasn't responsible, but why did I feel so guilty? Why did my heart hurt the way it did?

"It was all because of you." Shion hunched over and her face met mine. Her forehead touched mine. I felt her breath touch my flesh. It burned me. "You're the one who's at fault here. Mion killed them because of you. You robbed me of the last piece of Satoshi-kun. And to make matters worse, you weaseled your way into my heart."

I was confused. She didn't really mean…

"I love Satoshi-kun." She sat back up and placed her hand over her chest and closed her eyes. She smiled genuinely when she thought about him. "I love him so much that I would do anything, even sell my own soul, so that he could come back to me and Satoko. But now…he'll never come back. He'll never come back and I can never face him again because I don't have his sister with me. So I began to realize something, why should Sis have her love and get away with her crimes while I can't have the one I love?"

Tears slowly fell from my eyes.

"So I killed Mion…and now…I'm gonna kill you. But…I tried though…I really tried to kill you as you laid there when you were asleep. I was going to kill you right there and be done with it…but I couldn't." Shion glared at me. "All because you found a way to get into my heart. You tried to make me betray Satoshi-kun and you tried to be him. But you can never be him. You're not Satoko's Niinii and you're not my Satoshi!"

My tears vanished and my eyes widened. What was she going to do to me now?

"Don't you impersonate him!" Her thighs squeezed my sides tightly, making it difficult to breathe. "Don't you rub my head and think you can make me happy! Don't you try to be Satoko's brother! You're not Satoshi; don't try to replace him! Even if God forgives you…I won't! Because of you, Satoko and Rika are dead, and now Satoshi-kun will never come back to me! You're awful, Keiichi!"

Shion placed a nail over my finger. She rose up her hammer.

"Show me your conviction! Take responsibility and die!" She swung the hammer down.

I closed my eyes tightly. I was waiting for the terrible pain to follow, but it didn't. I instead heard a dull thud. I felt something fall on top of me too. When I opened my eyes, I noticed Shion was laying on top me with her face next to my ear. Her hammer had hit the cross; it fell off of the arm of it and onto the floor. She was weeping. I felt her teardrops on my shoulder.

"Why…?" she moaned. "Why can't I kill you…? I hate you…I hate you so much...yet, my feelings for you are just like Sis'…"

"Shion," I said to her, trying to remain calm. "Killing me isn't going to bring Satoko or Rika back. You'll just be putting another hole in your heart. I don't excuse what you did to Mion. She should have been arrested and taken away, instead of being murdered, you know that. However, I am very sorry over Rika and Satoko. If I had known what was happening, I would have stopped this all before it progressed to this point. I am, in part, guilty of their deaths. I know you'll never forgive me for not realizing how Mion felt and what she was capable of, but know that I am truly sorry."

"Please, let me go. This isn't going to do you any good. You kill me, and the police will be after you just like they were after Mion. You'll ruin your life. Please, think this through, I beg you…Shion…"

Shion lifted her head to see me. A little smile was on her face. Her tears stopped. She looked at me sweetly. "You've really grown up, Kei-chan. Sis was right about you. She would have been a happy girl. I'm sorry…for everything. This demon inside me does all these awful things. I couldn't stop it from killing Mion…but maybe I can stop it from killing the one she loved."

Shion released me from the cross. She released the restraints that held me and allowed me to get up. I stood up and rubbed my sore wrists and neck. She sat at the foot of the cross with her eyes cast down. I stood in front of her. I smiled warmly at her. I wanted Shion to get help. She was distraught and standing on the brink now. I had to be calm and warm towards her. I didn't want to set her off again.

"You're doing the right thing, Shion."

"I should-I should tell the police what I did." Shion smiled back at me. "I should take responsibility for my actions now too."

I nodded strongly. "I'll go with you! I won't leave your side! I'll be with you every step of the way!" I held out my hand to her.

She took it and stood up. She blushed a little. "Thank you…Kei-chan."

I turned around and led her to the door leading out of the torture chamber.

"Kei-chan? Can I tell you something?"

"Huh? Sure, what is-"

My shoulder started to hurt. It stung and I felt something dripping down it. I looked. A knife was imbedded into my arm. My blood was gushing out. I felt the blade touch my bone. I knelt down on the ground and yelped in pain.

"Ha…ha…ha…nyahahaha….HAHAHA!" Shion threw her head back. Her laugh echoed throughout the chambers of this underground prison. "You fell for it! You really fell for it! Hahahaha!"

I yanked the knife out of my arm and yelped again. I covered the wound with my hand, to stop the blood from pouring out, and I looked at her. She showed me her fangs, her venomous tongue, her demonic jade eyes, and her bloody hand after she stabbed me.

"You didn't think I was just gonna let you go, did you? Oh no…you're not getting away from me! You're gonna pay for everything you've done to me! I'm gonna kill you the same way I killed Mion! This time, I'm not gonna stop the demon from killing you! I'll let it tear you to shreds! Hahaha!"

"Shion…you…"

"You're good! You really had me going back there! Now I know why Sis called you 'Master of Words' Maebara! But it's not gonna work anymore! You may have tricked me when you visited me that one day, but I won't allow it anymore!"

I looked at the knife. I looked at Shion. I had no choice. She wasn't going to let me out of there alive. She was really going to kill me this time! I had to do whatever it took to escape! I didn't have a choice!

She pulled out her stun gun from her pocket. She squeezed the switch and I saw the lightning dance in her hands. "When you get to hell, say hello to Sis would ya!" She lunged at me.

I swiped at her with the knife. My eyes were closed so I wasn't sure where I was going to hit her. I heard blood drop to the floor. I looked at my own small puddle. It didn't grow since she unsheathed her stun gun. When I looked at her, she was against the wall, holding her forearm. I had cut her.

"My arm!" She shrieked. She gripped the slice in her arm and her eyes were moving rapidly in their sockets. "It hurts! It hurts!"

With that, I leaped to my feet and ran for the exit. I flung open the doors and dashed up the steps leading to the main garden. When I got there, I looked at the sky. It was in the afternoon. Shion had kept me imprisoned for that long. It made me feel somewhat relieved. My parents had to know that I was missing from my room. They probably called Akasaka, or that guard that was protecting us, and had people looking for me. If I could just get to a phone, I could tell somebody what was going on. I had to survive that long!

"KEI-CHAN!" I heard Shion scream from the torture chamber, even though I was already in the garden. "Hahaha! Run you little bastard! When I catch you, we're gonna play a new game!" Her laugh had me frozen stiff. "Here I come!"

Part B

I sprinted inside of the Sonozaki house. I was in no condition to run around Hinamizawa like this. My arm was still bleeding and I heard Shion's swift footsteps coming from behind me. If I tried running away from the house, I had no doubts that she would catch me. There was no place to hide along the road from the house. My best bet to survive was to hide inside of it. If I could knock her out and call the police, I'd be in the clear.

I was in the main corridor. One side led to the living room where Mion and I shared tea and the other led to somewhere else. I decided to run down that way. I hung a left and found four rooms before me. Two were on each side of the hall. I randomly picked one and hid in there.

I was starting to feel dizzy. I was losing too much blood. I had to treat my wound. I tore a piece of my shirt off and made a make-shift tourniquet around my arm. It stopped the bleeding for now; at least that problem was solved. I was still holding Shion's knife. I wasn't comfortable using this as a weapon.

The blade of the knife was way too short. It required me to get close to Shion and she was dangerous at that range. She had that stun gun. One wrong move and she'd zap me with that thing again. If that happened, I'd be as good as dead. I wouldn't get lucky this time. I needed to find a better weapon to fight her with, preferably some kind of blunt object. I just wanted to knock her out. I didn't want to kill her.

As I contemplated my next course of action, I noticed the floor was stained with drops of blood, my blood. Dammit, I swore. I was leading Shion right to me! She would follow my blood trail and kill me! What the hell was I going do?

I didn't hear her footsteps. Was she in some other part of the house? Or was she waiting right outside the room where I was, waiting to strike like a serpent. I really didn't want to leave this room, but my blood trail revealed my position. Either way, I was screwed. I had to make a choice: I could run outside and take my chances or stay here and wait for Shion to find me and attack.

I decided to leave the room. I wanted to find a better weapon to use against my pursuer. I dashed out into the hallway with my knife raised. Shion wasn't there. I looked at all my corners. She was nowhere to be found. I didn't like that. I could feel her cold eyes watching me. I could feel her hot breath burning my flesh again. It was my imagination, but I was more afraid than I've ever been.

I quietly side stepped down the hall. There was a telephone on a small stand against a wall. I silently removed it from the receiver and dialed the number to the Okinomiya police department. The dial tone seemed to last a lifetime. Every second I spent standing there out the open, Shion could have jumped me. I was counting on it.

_"Okinomiya precint?"_

"Akasaka-san!" I whispered into the phone.

_"Who is this? Speak up, I can't hear you."_

"It's Maebara Keiichi!" I spoke in a low tone.

_"Who?"_

"It's Maebara!" I said louder. The second I did, I constantly looked over my shoulders. Shion had to have heard me! She was coming after me, I know it!

_"Maebara-san?"_ He sounded extremely worried._ "Where are you calling from? What's wrong?"_

"I'm in the Sonozaki head house! Shion's trying to kill me! You need to send help right aw-"

The line went dead. I didn't hear Akasaka's voice anymore. I placed the phone down and picked it back up again; I redialed the number but the call never went through. I was about to dial one last time, when the phone rang. I seized the phone.

"Hello? Akasaka-san?"

_"Why are you running from me…Kei-chan?"_

My heart stopped beating. Sweat rolled down my face and down my arm. My wound started to bleed again. I just stared at the phone.

_"You're not trying to leave before I can play with you, are you? Ha…ha…ha..haha…haha…ahahahahahahahaha!"_

The line went dead again.

I dropped the phone and sprinted down the corridor; she knew where I was! I found another room off to the side and jumped in. I closed the door shut and backed away slowly. The door was very flimsy. It wasn't going to protect me at all. Shion could just kick it down and pounce on me like a rabid animal.

I backed into a table. I peered over my shoulder and saw what I had been looking for. There was a wooden sword lying on it. I stuck the knife in my belt and picked up the sword. I gripped the hilt and examined it closely.

It was made of hard oak. It was very sturdy and it fit well in my hands. It was light enough to swing, but it had a lot of power behind it. It was long too. It was about forty inches overall. This length was perfect. I could keep my distance from Shion and I had a chance to knock her out. I just might get out this, I hoped.

Footsteps slowly tread down the hallway. My pulse trembled. I hid in a closet filled with kimonos, blue jeans, a couple of yellow shirts, and a pair of sneakers. There was a holster, containing a BB gun, hanging from one of the clothing hangers. I knew what room I was in. I was in Mion's room.

The footsteps grew louder. The owner stood right outside the door to Mion's room. I peeked through the door to the closet, which I left slightly ajar. It was Shion's shadow. She was quiet. She stared at the door to Mion's room. She was just standing there. Was she trying to see if I was in there?

She walked away a few minutes later. I heard the crackling of her stun gun echoing down the hall. She wasn't going to stop until I was dead. But I had a chance now. As long as I held this sword, I could fight. I could get through this.

I crept from my hiding place and stood next to the table where I found the oak sword. I looked all around the room. It smelled like Mion. I could feel her presence in here. I saw the teddy bear I gave her on the day of the homerun faceoff. It sat there on her bedroll, without a care in the world. The happy look on its face made my spirit heavy. Mion would never hold it again. She would never kiss it goodnight. She would never think of me anymore.

I held the bear in my hands. I hugged it. I felt like I was hugging Mion, the real Mion this time. I felt so sad, so angry, and so alone. She was the closest I've ever been with in Hinamizawa. I think I loved her too. I wouldn't know now, I never would. If she was still alive, and if we had another chance, I think I could be sure. Shion stole that chance from me when she killed Mion. Even if she did kill Rika and Satoko, I still considered her to be my best friend. It's crazy, I know, but I really did. I missed her so much.

I placed the bear back on her bedroll. I promised I would fight through this, that I would live. I tiptoed over to the door to her room. I sneakily slid it open. I checked both sides of the corridor. Shion wasn't there. I quietly closed the door. I took a step forward. There was another room in front of me. I opened it and saw some newspapers in front of me, and there was a kitchen knife on a table off to the side. There was a little trap door in the middle of floor. I think this was the pantry.

I suddenly fell into the room. Something shoved me. I fell on my side, luckily not where the knife was sheathed in my belt. I got back on my feet and took a stance with my sword. There she was. There was my pursuer, looking at me as if I was a piece of fresh meat.

"Found you." Shion said menacingly. The stun gun in her hand crackled. "And what do you got there?"

I swung the sword to the side. I was ready for battle.

Shion raised her empty hand and turned it into a fist. Her other hand gripped the stun gun tightly.

We both stared each other down. We didn't move. We were like samurai watching one another, just waiting for the other to strike first.

"Hey!" Shion shouted. "What are you, afraid? Hurry up and make a move already! Believe me, if you won't then I will! Come on!"

She kicked the newspapers. They scattered in front of me and dangled in the air. I swung the sword down to clear them from my path. When I did, I saw Shion, gritting her teeth. She tackled me. I collapsed to the floor. The sword fell from my hand.

"Heh! Bastard!" Shion kicked my stomach. I coughed and covered myself with my arms, but her kicks were so strong that I feared she was going to break them.

She stopped kicking me. She reached down and took the knife from my belt. He smiled, flashing her teeth, at the bloody blade. She drove it into my leg. I cried out and rolled around on the floor. I rolled into a wall and struggled to get back on feet. I tore the knife from my leg. The pain got worse. Now my arm and my leg were hurt. Without my leg and arm, I didn't think I was going to be able to swing the sword correctly. I was finished if I didn't end this now.

"Haha!" Shion kept laughing at me. She knew I was done for if I continued on like this. "You're killing me here! You're pathetic! I guess there's not much left for me to do except watch you bleed to death! But I was so looking forward to torturing you one more time! Hey! Tell you what, why don't we go back to the torture chamber again? I wanna to hear a few more cries of anguish before I kill you!" Shion cackled once more. She stopped abruptly when she saw me raise my sword up. I wasn't going down yet!

"My, my!" She clapped for me. "I'm surprise you have some strength left! I mean it wouldn't be fun if you didn't! I know I'm gonna enjoy driving the nails through your fingers even more now! Although, I have to wonder: how long are you going to be able to last when you can barely stand? Look at you, you're a mess!"

"I…" I was breathing heavily. My wounds were still bleeding, my neck was itching again, and my heart was pounding so hard that it was going to burst a vessel. "I'm not gonna…I'm not dying here…" I squeezed the sword's hilt so tightly that it was vibrating in my hands.

"Now that sounds like the Kei-chan I know!" Shion smiled at me, in that sickening sweet smile. "Sis would be so proud of you! Ohhhhh…I can't wait until I kill you." She held her arms and moaned to herself. "Satoshi-kun will be so happy…"

"You're a demon. How could he love a demon like you?" If I made her angry enough at me, I just might get the opening I needed. "If anything, wouldn't he and Satoko be so ashamed of you? You killed a good friend of theirs! I don't care if it was out of vengeance, there's no way they would praise you for what you've done here!"

"Don't get cocky!" Shion pointed her stun gun at me. "That new attitude you got is really pissing me off! Since when did you grow up?"

"I learned a lot of things since I came to Hinamizawa," I smirked, even when I stared at death in the face.

"Don't you dare tell me what Satoshi-kun and Satoko would have wanted!" Shion dashed towards me. "Just lie down and die!"

She stuck the stun gun out at me. I dodged and swung my sword down hard. The blade hit the back of her leg. She collapsed; she dropped her weapon and it skipped across the floor. She crawled over to reach it, but she saw my shadow standing over her. She turned around to face me. Her hair was a mess and her eyes widened as much as they could.

I lifted the oak sword high into the air. She was afraid of me. She was shaking where she was sitting and she covered herself with her arms. She shrieked in terror at me. My face contorted into something hideous. My teeth gnashed against each other and my wounds didn't hurt anymore. Everything around me turned to scarlet, while Shion became a silhouette.

I swung the sword down upon her.

I felt the impact of my sword on her arms. The bones shattered. I swung it down again. I kept swinging it down harder than the last time. I just kept swinging. The cracking, sloshing, and squishing sound coming from my sword didn't bother me at all. If anything, it made me swing it down harder.

I did this before, I know I did. This was the most familiar event I ever felt in this week. I know I did this to someone else before. I remember swinging a bludgeon of some kind down upon someone…or some people. This felt so familiar but I didn't care. This wasn't a coincidence anymore. I felt it, Shion felt it too; we both had these occurrences of déjà vu. There was no mistake about it. This wasn't a coincidence. Something was reminding me of these events that I did in some another world and some another lifetime. This wasn't a dream, it was all real.

I swung the sword down once more. The awful noises stopped. I didn't hear Shion scream anymore. My arms hurt from swinging the sword so hard. My head was going to explode. Adrenaline was rushing through my body. I breathed more heavily and dropped my weapon. I stumbled to the door. I couldn't stand up anymore.

My vision returned to normal. Even though it did, the room was still red. I looked at my hands and my clothes. This wasn't my blood. My mouth had blood in it. I spat it out. It tasted terrible.

My eyes traveled across the room. Red was splattered all over the walls, floor, and it formed a stream that went through the trap door in the room. I looked down at my feet. I couldn't recognize the person I had hit anymore. I noticed the hair, the soft skin, and the horrified look in her eyes, but I couldn't remember what her face looked like.

I couldn't find her face at all. It was gone. I saw something sloshing about at my feet. Shards of bone lay around it. I held my mouth and went into the hallway. I vomited. I closed the door tightly and fell against the wall. I stared at the ground, trying to catch my breath. I couldn't believe what I just did. I couldn't believe the awful act I just committed.

I thought I was going to cry, but I didn't. I couldn't. I didn't have any more tears left to shed. I had enough of crying. I wasn't going to mourn anymore. I did what I had to do. If it wasn't her, it would have been me.

"I…I did it…" I said to myself. "I really…did it." My body trembled and I gritted my teeth again. "She's not gonna hurt me again…Mion…I'm gonna live…I'm gonna live!"

I laughed. I laughed hard. I laughed so hard that my stomach was killing me. I was scratching at my neck again too, a little bit harder than usual. I was happy. I was happy at what I just did. I was going to live. I got…revenge. I got revenge on the person who stole my best friend away from me. I said I didn't condone what she did, but I was really trying to hold back the fury when I said that to her. I said I had done a bad thing, but I told myself I acted correctly.

I still felt bad that Rika and Satoko were gone, but I felt worse thinking about Mion. Something inside of me just snapped. It felt great. It felt great to suddenly release all of my emotions through that sword. I was the biggest hypocrite of all. I thought I grew up, but in reality, it was just a charade. My thoughts were more mature, but I still had this…thing…buried deep inside of me. It was waiting to be unleashed.

I heard police sirens outside of the Sonozaki house. I heard the officers burst in through the main entrance, and I know some went down into the torture chambers. I was going to stay right here. I didn't do anything wrong. Sure, I took a life, but I did it in self-defense. She was going to kill me if I didn't fight back! I didn't do anything wrong! I waited for them to find me, I waited for Akasaka to come and see me.

I was going to live. I was going to live for Mion, and for Rena, the only friend I had left. I wasn't going to let anything else happen to me. I sat there, looking at my bloodied hands, waiting for Akasaka to come. I waited for him to see that I did what I had to do. I had killed Shion to save my own life.

_I'm sorry…..I'm sorry…I'm sorry….…I'm sorry…..I'm sorry….._


	5. Chapter 5: Denouement

Chapter 5: Denouement

Part A

I sat in my bed in a hospital in Okinomiya. I clenched my fists every now and then. My eyes didn't leave my hands at all. They were clean, but I could still see Shion's blood on them. I couldn't get her out of my mind. My shoulder and my leg were still hurting.

I had killed her. I killed her to save my own life. It was self-defense. She was going to torture me and kill me like she did to Mion. I couldn't wait for the police to come. If I did, I wouldn't have been alive. I did nothing wrong. I did the right thing.

The door to my room opened. Akasaka passed through the threshold and closed the door. He approached my bed and sat in a chair that was near the medical equipment. He tried to crack a smile.

"How are you feeling, Maebara-san?" He asked. His voice was in a low tone. He was still grieving over Rika. I caused this guy so much trouble and he was trying to help me. I felt bad for him.

"I'm fine," I replied, still looking at my hands. "I just…can't believe I…"

"It was self-defense, Maebara-san, you're fine." Akasaka held my shoulder. "You had to protect yourself. You're not in any kind of trouble, don't worry!"

I was quiet.

"I'm sorry to have to bother you so soon, but I'm going to need your official statement. We can start anytime you're ready." Akasaka fished out his notepad.

I took a deep breath and rubbed my head. I scratched at my neck a little. "I basically stayed in my room two days ago. That night, Shion disguised herself as Mion and came by my house. I was going to knock her out with the golf club I was holding onto, but she got the better of me. She took me to the Sonozaki head house and tried to torture me and kill me. I saw she…I saw she killed…Mion…and then I killed Shion to protect myself. That's really it…"

Akasaka nodded to himself as he wrote my last few sentences down. "Why did she kill Mion?"

"She thought Mion killed Satoko and Rika. She wanted revenge because she was so close to Satoko."

"Now, is that for certain? Is it true that Mion killed them?"

I sighed and looked out of the window. "To be honest…I really don't know anymore. I thought she did, but after the things Shion said to me, I don't know if Mion is guilty. The crime doesn't fit her at all."

Akasaka shook his head. "I guess she had a side to her that you never saw before."

I tried not to listen to that.

"If we only got to Mion before Shion did, then maybe we could have learned something from her. We might have found out the truth."

I knew something: the fight. The fight where Satoko threatened to tell me that Mion loved me. The fight where Mion got so hysterical, because of it, that she had a motive to kill Rika and Satoko. The fight where the two of them both made up and put the misunderstanding behind them. The fight that robbed me of Mion, Rika, Satoko…and it made me kill Shion.

I wanted to tell Akasaka about everything. I wanted to tell him about the fight, but I still had no idea what was going on. I was left out of the loop so much that it all confused me. The major issue at hand was that Rena hid the fact that the argument was indeed a misunderstanding, and that Mion and Satoko made up. If they did, then why did Mion kill them? I was thinking that Mion lied about forgiving Satoko and held a grudge against her. Mion loves her friends though. She wasn't like that at all. She wouldn't betray us.

Nothing made sense to me anymore. I was alone in the world. Rena was the only friend I had left, but because she hid all of these things from me, I was questioning whether or not I should trust her. Could I tell Akasaka though?

"I'm still going to investigate Mion. Someone has to know something about her motives."

"I might know something," I said. I had to get it off of my chest.

I sat there and spoke with him about what Rena told me. I then informed him that Mion threatened Rena's life, and then some of the holes that Shion filled. He wrote down every detail. I couldn't do anything else with this information, but hopefully Akasaka could do something. I was in no shape, as I was physically and mentally exhausted, to figure this out now.

"I see," he said with his hand on his chin. "So they made up before they were kidnapped?"

"Apparently."

"That doesn't sound right to me." He twirled his pencil around in his hands. "If they put it behind them, then why would Mion attack Satoko, and Rika for that matter?"

"I know Mion very well." Saying her name hurt me more. "She gets over something that bothers her, she always did that. I just…don't think she really did this. It's not like her."

"But we found the bodies of the two girls in the secret tunnel, which is on Sonozaki property. It's the perfect place to hide the crime and it was convenient for Mion to do. The evidence is all there. Mion knows the terrain of Hinamizawa. She knew where Rika-chan and Satoko lived. She knew the perfect place to catch them off guard. As far as I can tell, Mion is the killer."

"I don't know…I just don't…"

Akasaka folded his arms and titled his head for moment. He was thinking. "If Mion didn't kill Satoko and Rika, then who did? I don't think anyone else has a motive for murdering them. That's the main problem here. Unless we find concrete proof of Mion's innocence, she's going to be officially branded as a killer when I close this case." Akasaka shut and pocketed his notepad. "I'm sorry, Maebara-san, without that proof I can't do anything but close the case. However, I'm going to look into this more closely just be on the safe side. Maybe I'll find something out, but don't get your hopes up, please. Anyway, you really need your rest. I'm sorry to bother you, but I had to get this statement to help you and make everything official. Take it easy and let me handle this, okay?"

Akasaka patted my shoulder and wished me well and walked over to the door. "Oh, and when you get back to Hinamizawa, you should get more medicine for your allergy. Your neck's all red."

I sat alone in my room again. I scratched at my neck. It hurt every time I scratched, but if I didn't scratch it, it would itch even more. I ran out of the cream Irie gave me so I had to cope with the itch. I even peeled off my bandage before Akasaka came to talk with me so I could scratch at it. Why did it itch so much? I didn't get it. Shion's grip on it would cause a rash, but it wouldn't spread like this. This was crazy.

So Akasaka needed proof of Mion's innocence before he would close the investigation. I took that as a favor. Not many cops would do that, especially to a friend of the criminal. When you get your evidence and piece the puzzle together, that's it. You close the case; you don't go back and look it over because everything fits. Akasaka was different. Maybe it was a real favor for me, or maybe it was a gut feeling after this talk, but he decided to investigate further. I desperately hoped he would find something to prove Mion's innocence.

I didn't want to think that my best friend was a murderer. But even if she did really commit murder, I would always remember her as Sonozaki Mion, my best friend…who loved me. I didn't condone what she did, or why she had done it, but Mion was still and would always be my friend. I gripped my chest. My heart ached. I felt so alone.

My whole world was falling apart around me. Every one of my friends was dead, save for Rena. My perfect Hinamizawa was no more. The place we fought for, where we defied all the odds and came out on top, was crumbling under my feet. I was falling and I couldn't grab on to anything to break my fall. I was falling in a vast chasm of nothingness. My world was that of a broken vase. It could never be repaired. It would never be the same.

The door to my room flung open. It startled me. I saw someone in white leap through the threshold and grab my head.

"Keiichi-kun!" Rena smothered my face into her chest. "I was so worried!"

I was losing air, but I loved the position I was in.

"Are you ok?" Rena held my face up to see her.

"Yeah, I'm okay! I'm okay!" I held the back of her waist with my hands. "You can stop squeezing my face now!"

"When I heard about what happened, I rushed over here as quick I could!" Rena hugged me again. She was stroking the back of my head. It felt wonderful. Her soft hands traveled up and down and massaged me. "Is there anything I can do?"

"I'm okay, really!"

Rena ignored my words and kept stroking me. She sat at the side of my bed and held me. She kept rubbing the back of my head with one hand and massaged my shoulder with her other hand. "Are you sure?" Her voice sounded so cute.

"Yeah, positive!" I smiled warmly at her. My heart was still heavy with everything that happened in this week, but she was sitting here with me now. Rena was all I had left. She was the only person who made it out with me. She hid the details of the fight from me though. She had to have had a good reason, I believed, or else she wouldn't do that. She would tell me everything, but maybe Shion was right: maybe she just didn't want me to worry after all. Rena was all I had left now. I couldn't afford for her to disappear.

I suddenly pulled Rena closer to me. My head rested over her shoulder. I gripped the back of her waist tightly. I was afraid to let go of her. If I did, I might have lost her too. I knew she was blushing. Her cheek was hot and it was touching the side of my neck. I had no more tears to cry, but I felt so emotional towards her. I brought her closer to me and rubbed around her hips with my hands. I wanted to make sure this was real and that this wasn't a horrible dream.

"Keiichi-kun!" Rena's face got hotter. "Hauuuu…Keiichi-kun…if you keep doing that…"

"Don't leave me," I whispered to her. "Please…don't ever leave me!" I couldn't help but hold her so tightly. She was my only friend in Hinamizawa. She was my last precious friend.

"Hauuu…Keiichi-kun…"

She saw how much of a mess I was. She pulled my face back to look into my eyes. She smiled at me. It warmed my broken heart. She placed my face into her neck. Her skin was so smooth.

She smelled great. The scent was delicious. I breathed her in and never let go of her. Everything about her made my body warm. It felt like I hadn't seen her in years. I forgot how cute she was, how weird she was, how she got so embarrassed when you touched her a certain way, and how her voice sounded. I couldn't control myself because I missed her so much. I think my lips slid over a part of her neck.

I heard her moan a little when I accidentally did that. She just held me tighter.

"Promise me something: please don't ever leave me!" I said strongly to her. "You're my only friend in the world now! I don't ever want to lose you!"

"I-I-I promise, Keiichi-kun…" Her voice was so quiet. She was taken aback at my sudden request. "I promise!"

I was still holding her hips and my face was still in her neck. She brushed her cheek against my head and sighed happily. She continued to rub the back of my head.

"Promise Rena that you'll never leave her too…" She whispered to me.

"I promise…Rena…"

"I'll always be here for you, Keiichi-kun," she whispered again. Her skin became hotter. Her delicate fingers traced along my neck now. It was so good. "Rena will always be here for you…"

I returned to Hinamizawa the next day. The doctors advised against it, as my wounds were still healing, but I wanted to get back to my home. I was using a cane to walk and my arm was in a sling. I looked terrible, but it felt great to finally come home. I got to see my parents and we shared a nice dinner. I slept soundly that night. It was the best sleep I had gotten in a long time.

I awoke the next morning and hurried down for breakfast. I was surprised, I had completely forgotten about my neck. My parents didn't even notice the large rash there; they were preoccupied with the wounds Shion gave me. They gave me seconds without me even asking and they helped me get up whenever I wanted to walk around the house.

It was the weekend now. I didn't have to worry about school. I was very happy about that. I didn't think I could face it so soon. I wasn't mentally prepared for that yet. I was thinking about the old days, when all of us were together. It was sad to remember, but I still had something to hold on to. I still had Rena. I needed her. I wanted her to stay with me as long as possible. I had to know that we were going to be alright.

Rena came by my house and invited me to go for a walk. My parents were about to decline for me, but I wanted to go. I was sure about it. I didn't want to stay cooped up in my room all day. I wanted to breathe the fresh air in Hinamizawa. I wanted to start anew.

Rena and I walked at a slow and steady pace. She helped me walk, even though I had the cane. I heard the cicadas chirping. They were still singing that dirge for all that happened.

We ran into some people along the way to Rena's hideout. We were stopped a few times where people asked how I was doing and that they heard about what happened to me. They were even telling me how sorry the Sonozaki family was. These people heard that the family was so infuriated by Shion's actions, not to mention Mion's own crimes, that they felt so dishonored. They were going to extend a formal apology to me when the case was finally over. I was shocked. I had forgotten Shion and Mion were daughters in a big yakuza family. I was afraid that they were going to come after me because I killed Shion; maybe that's why Akasaka wanted to get my statement so soon. He wanted to keep me safe from any misunderstanding. That didn't help repair the pieces of my broken heart though.

We arrived at Rena's trailer in the junkyard. She was extremely careful with me. She took it upon herself to make a walkway out of wooden planks and metal walls that appeared to be from broken down sheds for me. We sat in her trailer and just talked. She brought tea and some ohagi she made just for me. She was smiling at me the whole time. She was trying to make me feel better after all that happened.

"I'm sorry," she said to me at one point.

"For what?"

"I never told you what was going on. We all kept you in the dark. Friends shouldn't do that…"

Rena looked so remorseful. I think I saw a tear in her eye. I got so tired of tears and crying. I wiped it from her eyes and smiled.

"Stop that," I said. "It's all over now."

Rena nodded with her cute smile. "At least we have each other!"

I thought about Mion. I wished she was here with us now, along with Rika and Satoko…and Shion. It was empty without them. Rena was doing her best though. No doubt she was hurting inside like I was. We had to be there for each other. No more crying, no more thinking of the past, no more of anything.

"Rena…I miss them…"

"I do too, Keiichi-kun. I'm sorry that all of this happened. I never knew Mii-chan was like this."

I didn't want to hear about Mion's crimes. I still wanted to think of her as my best friend. I wanted to remember her as she was.

Rena must have seen the large frown on my face when she said that. She covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's alright," I said lowly. "I don't think any of us knew what she was going to do." I hoped Akasaka would find that proof soon. I couldn't take this anymore. "Actually, you had a hunch, huh? That's why you came by that night to tell me, right?"

"I wanted you to be careful." Rena played with her fingers.

"You know, now I'm not trying to accuse you of anything so please don't take it that way...but before Shion…well…she said knew about the fight between Mion and Satoko. Shion said that Mion and Satoko made up and that the whole fight was a misunderstanding."

Rena listened to me. She was very quiet.

"Please don't think I'm angry with you, but why didn't you tell me?"

Rena looked away from me. She rubbed her arm. "We didn't want you to worry about them, like I said before. We thought it was all over and that everything was going to go back to the way it was, but it sounds like Mii-chan didn't forget about the quarrel. We didn't want to trouble you with something that was already over. When I heard Rika-chan and Satoko-chan were captured, I thought for the worst. I came to tell you that night to warn you, but I wanted to leave before anybody saw me at your house. Mii-chan had many allies in high places, you know, since she was the next head for the family."

"I saw Rika's body in that pit, along with Satoko's." I recalled finding them in the tunnel. I felt so sick.

"Mii-chan…" she paused for a moment. "Shii-chan told you about her feelings, did she?"

I nodded.

"Mii-chan really did love you." Rena looked back at me. "That's why I wanted you to give that teddy bear to her, to make her happy. It was supposed to calm her too. But it didn't really work out."

I shook my head. "I just don't understand why."

Rena placed her tea aside. She came over to me. She got on her knees and sat on her legs. She touched my shivering hand. The thought about Mion and her emotions were dragging me back into that world of anger and sin. I didn't want to go back there again.

Rena held my hand in hers. She smiled at me again. "I don't think we ever will. But we can still remember everybody as they were. They're our friends! We'll never forget them!"

"I would never forget them."

"See! As long as you honor your friends for who they were, they'll never be gone! I don't care what they say about Mii-chan; she's a very good friend!"

"Rika, Satoko, and Mion, they're my best friends. You are too, Rena."

She giggled. She looked at my hand. She traced her finger all around it. She was still trying to make me happy. I felt great to start anew, but feeling great and being happy were two different things to me. I didn't know if I would be truly happy again. I lost all of my friends, except for Rena, and I would never see them again

She lifted my hand and placed it on her cheek. She pressed my palm into her cheek and held my hand there with both of her hands. "I…I'm happy you're here with me."

I stroke her cheek with my fingers. "I am too."

Her smile grew wider. She sat closer to me. She wasn't sitting on her legs anymore. Her lower body was touching the floor while her legs were at her sides. She rubbed her cheek into my hand.

"Hauuu," she said in a low voice. That voice made me tingle all over. "Keiichi-kun's hand is so warm and soft…I want to take him home…"

My eyes were casting some kind of spell over her. I didn't know what they were doing, but I think they were just flirting with her. This time was totally an accident though; I didn't mean anything by it. I always flirted with her to bust her chops. She knew I was joking with her those times, but was always subdued by them. This time was different. She took me seriously.

I didn't know how it happened, but her lips connected with mine. She was frozen stiff. My hand traveled to her hip and I held it tight. Her hands held my face. She kissed the corners of my mouth. One of my hands went to her legs soon after. My finger grazed her thigh. She trembled. I even kissed her neck a little. I heard her "hauuu" and gasp a few times. She gripped me tightly and shook where she sat. When I pulled my face away from her I met her eyes. Rena was bright red. She pressed her forehead against mine.

"…Keiichi-kun's making Rena so happy…" she whispered. She kissed me again.

My body was acting on its own. I had no control over what I was doing. All of my pain was gone and my neck wasn't bothering me. I honestly didn't want this moment to end. It felt so good. I felt so secure in Rena's arms. She was protecting me from all the terrible things that plagued me. Rena was everything to me now.

I lay in bed that night thinking about Rena. I made her happy? What did she really mean by that? I thought she was talking about sticking together like I was. It didn't really matter to me. All I knew was that the two of us were left in Hinamizawa.

Rena surprised me though. She seemed hesitant, but she seemed willing to go farther than where we stopped. I couldn't figure out what her deal was. I think she got too wrapped up in the moment. I know I was. It felt wonderful, but I was beginning to feel guilty. Shion's words were buzzing through my head. It felt like her stun gun was zapping me again.

_ "She loved you."_

I turned over on my side in my bed. I looked at my wall. I closed my eyes tightly and tried not to think about it. Shion's words kept assaulting me though. She was torturing me, even though she was dead.

I felt guilty. The small happiness I had was gone again. I was back into the hell I thought I left behind. This was supposed to be a new life for me, but the chains to the past still held onto me. I tried to break from them but I couldn't.

"I'm sorry…" I said to myself. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

It was Sunday now. I stayed in my room for most of the day, just thinking. I couldn't stop thinking about the past week. It was finally over, but why I was I having such a hard time accepting it? Something was eating at me.

I thought about my experiences of déjà vu, the rash around my neck, and about Rena. Everything was so weird. Shion and I did things we know we didn't do, but we felt a strong connection to those instances. This itching at my neck was getting so bad that I cut myself scratching at it. I put an adhesive over it, but that didn't stop the itching. The rash never went away, even with that cream or that shot Irie gave me.

I think Rena was the most peculiar case. She never acted so alluring like that before. The past times when I flirted with her, it was all fun and games. She was the one who was flirting with me now. She instigated the first kiss and was the first to touch. It was so odd. I had suspicions, but I was just being paranoid. I was supposed to be feeling better now.

I was supposed to go with her to the junkyard that day to help her with treasure hunting. I agreed to do so before she left me the night that I was in her trailer. It gave me the perfect opportunity to get these bad feelings off of my chest again. Rena could help me. She could help me solve everything.

Rena stopped by my house around late afternoon. She helped me over to the junkyard. I was walking much better than before. I could jog a little now. My wounds were healing pretty quickly, despite being home for just one day. I would be as good as new in no time!

When we got to the junkyard, Rena immediately got to work. She pulled and shoved debris off of her designated area. She did all of this in her white dress too. I was impressed. She was strong and determined to find something in that heap. She never gave up when she had her eye on something, especially when it was "adowable."

I sat against the door of her trailer, tapping my cane against my foot.

Rena took a little break from her digging. She sat next to me. Her hand touched mine.

I wasn't expecting it and I jumped.

"Keiichi-kun!" She was startled too. "Did I scare you?"

"It's okay! I was just thinking…"

"About everybody again?"

Guilty as charged.

She smiled. "It's okay! It's only natural!"

I tried to laugh it off, but my thoughts were eating at me again. "I just…you know…"

"We've been through a lot, Keiichi-kun!" Rena took my hand and caressed it. "Rena's here for you! She'll make you feel all better!"

"I have to thank you, Rena. You're doing a lot of nice things for me. I appreciate it."

She giggled. She took my hand and placed it on her leg. She made me keep it there.

"Rena, what are you doing?" I was blushing.

"I liked it when Keiichi-kun touched my leg before." She blushed. "I liked a lot of the stuff you did before…hauuuu…"

I laughed a little. I took my hand back and rubbed her head roughly.

She looked away sheepishly. She stood back up and began digging again.

Mion would have teased me if she saw me like this. Wait, no she wouldn't. She loved me. She might be hurt if she saw this.

I looked down to the ground.

Rena saw me out of the corner of her eye. "Are you okay, Keiichi-kun?"

"It's Mion." I spoke so depressed. "I was just thinking about her ag-"

"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!" Rena was shouting.

I was on my feet. My eyes were glued on Rena. Her body was shaking and her hands became fists.

"Rena…?" I reached out to touch her. I held her shoulder.

"Stop talking about her!" I heard her sniveling.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bring her up like that…"

She turned around and buried her face into my chest. Her arms were around me. She was crying loudly. I held her close to me. Rena continued to cry for a while. I was so insensitive! I shouldn't have been talking about Mion every time I saw Rena! She was still grieving like I was. It wasn't doing us any good to keep talking about what she did. I felt so guilty that I made her cry.

"We have a new life," she moaned. "Just you and me…but I'm not happy! I'm not happy at all! This was supposed to be great…I wanted for us to be happy…but everybody keeps talking about her! I want it to stop!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! You're still sad about her, along with the others. I am too. I just can't stop thinking about it! I'm so-"

"I should have put them somewhere else," she said coldly.

What did she just say?

"Rena?"

"I should have put them somewhere else," she repeated, even colder.

"Rena, what's gotten into you? I said I was sorry!"

I felt her nails dig into my back. "This wasn't supposed to happen…"

What was she talking about?

"Rena, what do you mean?"

She lifted her face to me. I looked into her eyes. They weren't the same. They had that reptilian look just like Mion's did that one day. They flashed in the setting sun. I was petrified by them.

"I should have put Rika-chan and Satoko-chan someplace else!"

My heart rate increased. Did she mean…? No, that's impossible. Rena wouldn't do that! This wasn't real! This was a nightmare!

"All my hard work, gone." Rena's nails dug deeper into my back. I couldn't escape from this grip she had on me. I tried to push her off of me, but she was stuck to me. I couldn't get her off!

I couldn't speak. My mouth was dry and my throat was hurting. I could hear my heart beating rapidly.

"What's wrong, Keiichi-kun?" Rena said darkly. Her hand held my chin now. She stroked it. "You seem kind of sick."

"…Rena…what do you mean…what do you mean by you should have put them somewhere else…?"

"Ufufufufu…isn't it obvious?" Rena pulled my face closer. "I killed them," she whispered.

The cry of the cicadas cried all around me. They blocked out the sound of my heart beat. This was the warning they tried to give me. All this time, since Rena came to my door and told me about Mion and Satoko's quarrel, they had been crying a warning to me. They were warning me about her! I never listened much to it. I thought I could trust Rena then. She did all of this?

"…You…?"

"That's right…I killed them…I killed them…and I hid their bodies in Mii-chan's house!" Rena continued to whisper to me. "It was all me!"

"…Why…?"

"Why?" She blinked at me; her terrible eyes struck me even more. They pierced me like a sword. "Because…Rena likes Keiichi-kun…very much…"

"Why…why would you do this…?"

"Don't you know, Keiichi-kun?" Rena smiled. "I've seen the way Mii-chan looked at you…I've seen the way Rika-chan looked at you…I've seen it! Mii-chan liked you for so long, but I did too. I think Rika-chan might have as well. They wouldn't do Keiichi-kun any good! They would only hurt him and break his heart!"

What the hell was she saying? Why was she doing this to me?

"The night after the homerun faceoff, I waited for Rika-chan and Satoko-chan to come home. When they did, I surprised them. I took a hatchet and hit them hard with the blunt side of it. I took them to Mii-chan's secret tunnel…and then I killed Rika by stabbing the hooked end into her brain. I then cut Satoko…many times before I finally ended it. It had to be convincing, after all, she and Mii-chan did have that fight…hahaha.

"Mii-chan and Satoko fought before. Mii-chan was thinking of telling you that she liked you, but I convinced her not to. That would have ruined everything! After they made up, I knew I had to act. Mii-chan was so furious with Satoko-chan before, so I had to hurt Satoko-chan the most. I had to make it look like Mii-chan did it!

"I put them in the tunnel, hoping it would frame Mii-chan. It worked, as Shii-chan thought she was the culprit. With her gone, I didn't have any more obstacles! I didn't mean for Shii-chan to attack you, but you killed her in the end, so that's good! However, even though Mii-chan is dead, you still cling to her…everybody keeps talking about her! Maybe it was a mistake telling you to give her that teddy bear. I wanted her to have one last moment of happiness before she died. Why do you think about her so much? Did you like her too, I wonder?

"But don't you see, Keiichi-kun? I did this all for you! I really do like you! I have for a real long time! I waited so long for you to hold me, kiss me…and share your love with me, although I'm still working on that part…hahaha…"

I couldn't believe this. All my friends were dead because of Rena? That made no sense. What possessed her to do this? Why would she tear apart our happy lives and make us suffer? What drove her to this? This wasn't Ryuugu Rena! Rena wasn't like this!

Rena narrowed her eyes. "I'm the only one for you now. I'm the only one who can make you happy. I can comfort you." She stroked the sides of my face. "I…can save you from this sad world…"

I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. "Rena…they never did anything to you…"

"They were trying to take you away from me. Rena had you first…"

"They never did anything to you…why then…?" I furrowed my brow. I shook her violently. "Why did you kill my friends!"

Rena looked at me blankly.

"Aren't you happy, Keichi-kun?" Rena was still holding my face. She didn't smile or blink at me. She stared at me for a solid minute. She sounded confused.

"You murdered my friends! You had Mion killed! You made…you made me kill Shion!" I squeezed her shoulder hard. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

Rena let go of my face and stepped away from me. She held the sides of her head with her hands. "No…no…no no no…this isn't right…you're supposed to be happy! This isn't right!" She was gnashing her teeth together. "We were supposed to be happy! What did I do wrong! Where did I go wrong!"

She shrieked and collapsed to her knees. She was shivering. I heard her muttering something.

I picked up my cane and held it tightly. I looked at it and then to Rena.

"Everything was going so well…what did I do wrong!" Rena was suddenly quiet. She stood up again, dangerously slow. She stood like a statue.

"Rena, I don't understand what's going on here…"

"Of course you don't." Rena shot a look at me. Her mouth was open as wide as it could be and her neck bent over to the side as she looked at me. It appeared as if her neck had been snapped. She was laughing at me.

I held my cane at my side. I was ready to use it if I had to.

"Tell me, Keiichi-kun: has something been bothering you lately? Something that's been scaring you?"

I gulped hard. "I'm-I haven't been scared of anything!"

"Liar." She laughed again. "Have you been feeling something strange lately? Have you been remembering things you didn't do before, although you felt like you did?"

"How-How did you know about that?"

"There's nothing that Rena doesn't know! Hahaha!" Rena took a step towards me. I stepped backward. "Rena's been feeling it too, even now!"

Rena was feeling déjà vu as well? Now I definitely knew this wasn't a coincidence! Me, Shion, and now Rena. Something was at work here! It made us remember these things that never happened before!

Rena took another step towards me. "What else are you afraid of, Keiichi-kun? You can tell me! I'll protect you!"

I pointed my cane at her. "Don't come near me!"

She dashed at me. She knocked the cane from my hands and pinned me to her trailer's door. She laughed when she caught me.

"Now," she hissed at me. She brought her mouth closer and closer to mine. "Let me share my love with you…"

I mustered all of the power I had in my body. I pushed her off of me. She fell to the dirt and the debris with a thud. She was on her back. I grabbed my cane and ran off to the side, as fast as my injured leg would let me.

I ran into the nearby forest. I could still hear her laugh. It followed me wherever I went. It was like she became one with the forest, with Hinamizawa. I ran and ran and ran. Her laugh still haunted me. Rena was chasing me! I didn't see her running after me, but I knew she was around me! She was following me!

I hid behind a tree to catch my breath. I raised my cane and looked to my left and right. The woods were quiet. I didn't hear anything.

My life was in danger again. Rena became a demon too. How was I going to stop her? I didn't want to kill her! I didn't want to kill another person! My head was hurting so much. All of my thoughts and beliefs were in conflict with one another.

I was unsure about everything. I was unsure about my feelings towards Mion, I was unsure if I really was right in taking Shion's life, I was unsure about everything I did. How did things get so messed up? Where did everything go wrong?

I realized something. I realized the truth. Rena was the cause of everything! She was the enemy the whole time! She was responsible! It was her fault! She made me suspect Mion and she framed her! She killed everyone dear to me! She ruined my life! She ruined everything! That was it! Screw it, I said to myself. She was going to pay for what she did to me! I was going to kill her! I was going to kill Rena!

Part B

I moved from tree to tree, hiding behind each one. I didn't see her. I didn't hear her either. The adrenaline was rushing through my body just like it did when I was fighting Shion. Despite the situation I was in, I enjoyed the feeling.

I knew Rena was going to try to attack me. I couldn't place my finger on it, but I just knew. Deep down in my gut I knew that was what she was going to do. I had to be prepared for anything. I wasn't going to let Rena pull anything over on me! I had to get out of this!

I ran to another tree. The soil around this tree wasn't soft like near the other ones. The earth was hard. I planted my feet firmly in it. I pressed my back against the bark of the tree. I took my arm out of the sling. It was still hurting from the stab wound, but I had to use it. I gripped my cane with both hands. This as a weapon would serve me well. It was made of sturdy wood and it was very light. I could swing it swiftly and keep on swinging it. I could do this! I could do this! Now all I had to do was wait for Rena to come by and ambush her!

"What're you trying to do? Surprise me?"

I hear her voice. I whipped around to see Rena smiling at me with those terrible eyes. She was holding a hatchet.

"You left me with no choice, Keiichi-kun." Rena lifted her hatchet and looked at the blade. She was looking at her reflection. "I'll have you all to myself…I know I will. I will."

I took a stance with my cane. I didn't feel so confident holding that thing anymore. It wasn't going to last against her giant cleaver. She would cut this thing in two if I wasn't careful and then she would cut me. I needed to get a better weapon. The junkyard was too far behind me so I couldn't run there for a weapon. Think, Maebara Keiichi! I yelled at myself. You need to find something to match her hatchet!

"I won't be gentle, Keiichi-kun!"

Rena leaped into the air and swung her hatchet down. I rolled out of the way. The hooked end of the weapon was stuck into the tree. She swung it so powerfully that she couldn't yank it out so easily. I took that as an opportunity. I swung my cane at her as hard as I could. She released her grip on the handle of the hatchet and evaded my attack. She punched me square in the face. I flew into another tree. I knew that punch! She used that when she was in her "cute" mode! She was using it now as she was trying to kill me! You had to be kidding!

Rena yanked the hatchet from the tree and charged at me again. She swung it down at me, as I was lying still against the tree. I dodged; her blade sent rocks and soil flying through the air. I ran from there, though my leg still hurt. I wasn't fast enough. Rena closed the gap quickly. She swung at me horizontally. I ducked and swung with my cane. She blocked it with her blade and swung again. I evaded once more and kept swinging at her.

I couldn't block or parry with the cane. She put so much power behind each of her attacks that I didn't have any hopes of deflecting a strike. I kept bobbing and weaving and rolling away from her. I only attacked after she finished one of her swings, but she was too fast for me. She blocked all of my attacks and always countered.

I had no hope of beating her at that rate. My cane was getting chips in it. With one strong attack, it would be destroyed. I needed it to last until I could get a better weapon. That's when it hit me. The Saiguden! I heard stories that it held all kinds of torture tools that were used back when the village was known as Onigafuchi. I also heard stories that only the priestess of the Furude family could go inside, or else the guardian deity of Hinamizawa would curse the poor soul who entered. I thought the Saiguden may have held a more suitable weapon.

I wasn't afraid of that anymore. All I feared was this demon that stood before me, who wore Rena's flesh and clothes, who wielded the gleaming steel of that hatchet. Whether I would be cursed or not if I entered that temple, I didn't care at all. I needed to beat this monster. I had to live!

I decided to make a run for the Furude temple. Rena had other plans. She attacked me with one more powerful swing. I ducked and swung my cane at her legs. She plopped down to the hard ground. As she was down I hid behind one of the trees in the forest. She looked everywhere for me. Every time her back was turned, I advanced slowly but surely. I avoided bushes, fallen branches, and pebbles that lay along the road. If I disturbed the area around me too loudly, Rena would spot me and attack me again. I even covered my tracks as best I could so she wouldn't follow me.

I made it out of the forest and arrived at another road. I jogged along it until I came to a large set of stone steps. I wanted to sprint, but my leg prevented me from doing so. I cursed at my pain quietly and moved up the stairs.

After the millionth stair, I arrived in front of the Furude shrine. If my memory was right, the Saiguden was behind the shrine. I remembered seeing it when I had lunch with Rena, Mion, Rika, and Satoko here when they were showing me around Hinamizawa. I was warned not to go inside, but I had no choice. That was the only place closest to me that had a weapon.

I checked all around me. Rena was nowhere to be seen. That was when she was the most deadly. She had become one with Hinamizawa and chased me through the forest. She seemed to know where I was and what I felt at all times. I was counting on her to find me soon. I had to get a better weapon before she did!

I ran up the road to the Saiguden. When I arrived there, I saw that there was a padlock on the door. It looked old and it was rusty. With a few good swings of my cane, I could break it off and get what I needed.

I took my cane and raised it as high as it could go. I struck the padlock with all of my might. After four good swings, the padlock broke off of the door. My cane also snapped. The door was opened slightly from when the padlock broke. I hesitated before going in, but I had no choice now. My cane was broken. I had to get that weapon!

The temple was very cold. I arrived there around evening, so the night air didn't help my troubled nerves at all. I stepped slowly, examining every tool I came across. I found most of the same equipment in the Sonozaki torture chamber. I didn't want to use a hook since it was way too short, and I didn't want to use a ceremonial knife because it looked too flimsy.

I came before the great statue of the deity. I was afraid to look up, but I did anyway. Oyashiro-sama stared down at me. His face held no emotion. There was an altar before him. On it laid my weapon, the ceremonial hoe Rika had used for this year's Watanagashi.

I picked it up and held it firmly in my hands. It was heavy, but my body quickly adjusted to the weight. I felt afraid to hold it because I wasn't going to be using it for any ceremonial purposes. I felt Oyashiro-sama's eyes watching me as I picked it up. But I needed it; I needed it to defend myself against Rena. I had no choice. I apologized to Oyashiro-sama, and to Rika. I would return it once I was safe. I apologized once more and left the temple.

The moon was looking down on Hinamizawa. It cast its light on me. I gripped my weapon tightly and held it with both of my hands again. I was ready!

"Hahahaha…" A laugh came from above me. I turned around and looked up. Rena was looking at me with her hatchet raised. She jumped down.

I blocked her attack with the shaft and pushed her away from me. I lifted it up and swung at her with the golden blade. Rena jumped back and slashed once more. I blocked it and then blocked another strike. She continued to swing and push me back until I was down on the ground. We were in a deadlock. She was standing over me, tying to force her blade into my throat, while I pushed back against her.

"You went into the shrine," she said with a sneer and snicker. "Oyashiro-sama's going to curse you!"

"I don't care!" He spat back. "He can curse me all he wants! All I care about is beating you!"

I shoved her off of me and got back onto my feet. As I was standing up, she was about to swing again, but I swung my weapon first. It was just to scare her from attacking; it bought me time to get back into a stance. I raised the tool again and prepared for another one of Rena's strikes.

She was laughing at me. "Keiichi-kun! This seems so familiar doesn't it? Didn't we do a club activity like this one other time? I'm sure of it!"

Something in my mind clicked. I smirked. I remembered. I remembered everything now! I remembered it all!

Rena saw my smirk and her smile widened. "You recall it, don't you?"

"I do!" I smiled back at her. I pointed the blade at her. "Except this time…this time I'll win!"

She busted out laughing. I saw spit flying from her mouth. "Are you sure, Keiichi-kun? You don't look like you can go on any further. I think your wounds are starting to open up!"

She was right. My arm and leg were bleeding again. I had to finish this quick.

"Let's settle this once and for all, Rena!" I readied my weapon. The decorations on the handle jingled.

"What's the punishment going to be? I wonder!" She giggled. "If I win, I want Keiichi-kun to be with me forever! I want him to greet me when I wake up in the morning, spend all of the day with me, and wish me goodnight before I go to sleep! I want Keiichi-kun to be with me always!"

"And if I win, I want you to turn yourself in. I want you to make all of this go away! I want you give me back the Hinamizawa I love!"

"Haha," she took her hat off. She tossed it on the ground. "I don't think that's possible, Keiichi-kun!"

"I'll make it possible!"

We both attacked simultaneously. Sparks flew off of our blades when they connected. We swung and they clanged against the other. The clang deafened my ears. I couldn't hear anything at all. I was so focused on this battle. I was so focused on defeating Rena!

After our final deadlock, she ran over to the side, where there was another road. I chased after her. I didn't feel any pain in my body. The rush I was getting numbed my body. I loved it! I didn't want it to stop! I wanted to keep feeling this way!

We came to a suspension bridge. It wobbled as I took my first few steps on it. Rena stood in the center of the bridge with her hatchet raised. She was edging me come closer. I acknowledged and slowly approached her.

We were just a few feet from each other. We raised our weapons and swung them again. She parried with her hatchet and hacked at me, but I blocked with the tool's blade and with the iron shaft. Sparks flew through the air. We grinded our teeth every time we struck the other's weapon. The vibrations I felt through my body with each attack and block filled my body with more adrenaline. My brain was on fire. I think I was smiling at this. I think I was enjoying this!

I swung one more time. I knocked the hatchet right out of her hands. The force sent her over the railing of the bridge. Everything was moving in slow motion. She was falling, with her dress's tails flowing in the air. Her face was one with shock. I had beaten her! I won!

Miraculously, she gripped one of the ropes of the bridge. She was dangling, looking down at the water and the jagged rocks below. She wouldn't survive if she fell down there.

Another memory clicked in my head. I was on this bridge one time. Although, I wasn't standing up here that time. I was right where Rena was. I remembered it clearly.

"Keiichi-kun beat me," Rena said calmly. She was so calm that it frightened me. She looked up at me. She smiled at me sweetly. "You really did grow up, Keiichi-kun…"

I dropped Rika's tool. It fell onto the bridge. I grabbed the railings and looked down at Rena. My heart was beating faster now. My world returned to that world of scarlet. Rena was a silhouette. I couldn't make out her features anymore.

"I guess we couldn't keep our promises," she said, although she smiled. "I was wrong to do this…I wanted to make sure your heart wasn't broken, but I ended up being the one who broke it…"

"DIE!" I shook the bridge. I wanted her to fall. I wanted her to fall onto the rocks below! "Just fall! Fall!"

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry for everything, Keiichi-kun. Maybe…maybe I can still fix this. I promise…I promise I will do better in the next world...I promise I won't make the same mistake. I wish we can still be friends."

I raised my voice. The demon hanging there looked like Rena and sounded like her, but I knew that wasn't her. "Give me back Rena! How dare you desecrate her! How dare you take everything from me! Die! Die DIE!"

Her hands let go of the rope. She reached out to me one last time before she fell to the waters below. I watched her fall until I couldn't see her anymore.

I returned to my world. I was under the moonlight. I heard the waters below. I heard my heart beating. I heard the cry of the cicadas.

I scratched at my throat. The itch was getting worse. I kept scratching at it. I was laughing. I was laughing hard. My eyes were shifting rapidly. My body was hot and my brain was still on fire. I felt so different. I felt all of my emotions all at once. I think I finally lost it.

"I did it! I did it!" I cried out. "I killed the ones who took my friends away from me! I killed who I wanted to kill! I did it! It was all me! Praise me, Rika! Praise me, Satoko! Praise me, Mion!" I kept laughing. I kept laughing and scratching at my throat until I lost consciousness.

Epilogue

I opened my eyes. They were so heavy. I looked up at the ceiling. I looked to the window. Where was I? There was somebody at my bedside. I couldn't make out this person's features clearly. When my eyes adjusted more properly, I recognized him.

Irie sat beside my bed. He saw me open my eyes and smiled.

"Maebara-san! You're awake!" His smile was warm and genuine.

"Doctor…? I…am I…?" I was groggy. I could barely open my mouth.

"You're at the clinic! You had a rough night!" He chuckled. "I'm so relieved you're okay!"

"What happened to me…?"

"Somebody found you on the bridge last night. You were unconscious! You lost a lot of blood and you fainted!"

That's right. I was fighting Rena there. That was the previous night? I really did that?

"The person who found you was old man Kimiyoshi. He saw you with some gardening tool. What were you doing up there so late at night? Going out to farm, were you?" He smiled in his traditional goofy fashion. He looked like he was feeling much better.

"I was fighting Rena," I said. I realized my words and sat up straight. "Rena!" I winced in pain. My arm and leg hurt.

"Easy, Maebara-san!" Irie laid me back down on my bed. "You're in no condition to move around like that!"

I pulled my covers back over my body. "What happened?"

"Well, Kimiyoshi heard some strange noises when he went out for a walk. He wasn't sleeping well, you see. He heard two people shouting at each other, and he heard a girl with this really creepy laugh. He also noticed the lock to the Saiguden was broken. The next thing he found was you, all bloody and holding onto Rika-chan's ceremonial hoe. You know, the one she used for the Watanagashi Festival?"

It was slowly coming back to me. I remembered I was fighting against Rena and that I broke into the Saiguden to take that tool. I used it as weapon. I knocked Rena over the side of the bridge with it. She fell into the water below, where all the jagged rocks are. I killed her.

"Do you remember at all what you were doing there? Did you and Rena-chan get into a fight or something?" He showed me her hat. He was holding it this whole time.

I was trying to organize all of my thoughts. "…Rena…she was trying to kill me."

Irie's looked at me funny. He was about to say something, but I continued to talk.

"I needed something to fight back against her. She had this axe and she was trying to kill me. I broke into the tools shrine and borrow Rika-chan's ceremonial tool. I'm really sorry I sneaked inside, but I used it to defend myself…I needed it. I used to protect myself and…"

Irie stopped me there. "It's okay now! You're not in any kind of trouble, don't worry! Kimiyoshi's not mad at all! He saw how badly hurt you were and brought you here! You're gonna be fine!" Irie smiled again. "I called Akasaka-san a little while ago. I told him your condition and he said that he's going to come visit you. He wants to ask you some questions about last night. You should take some time to get your strength back before he comes. I'll be right outside if you need me, alright? I just want to inform him that you're awake."

I slowly nodded.

"Oh! I put some more cream on your neck. Try not to scratch at it, okay?" He patted my bedside and exited the room. I heard him talking with a nurse outside. He told her to get me anything I needed.

I laid my head back onto my pillow. I looked up into the ceiling. It was all over. It was finally over. I wasn't in any trouble with the village leader, Oyashiro-sama, or anybody. I was alright.

I breathed deep and closed my eyes. I felt peaceful. I had been through a lot. I won the battle against Rena. I was going to live. I was going to live.

I was all alone in Hinamizawa now. I didn't have any of my friends around me. I was the only one left in the world. How was I going to cope? How was I going to make it without my friends?

I felt a tear fall from my eye. I thought I didn't have any more tears left to shed. I was crying again. I was crying for my friends, I was crying over the life I had lost. I was never going to be the same again. I was going to be alone.

Could I have done something different? Could I have done something to prevent these horrible events from happening? I would never know now. I would never know what I did wrong or what I could have done better. I was at a loss. I sighed. Where did it all go wrong? When did it all go awry?

"Hauuuuu…."

I heard something. It came from beside my bed. I opened my eyes and looked. Rena was standing next to me. Her neck was snapped and her dress had tears and holes in it. Her head was cracked, her arms and legs had deep gashes in them as well, and blood was pouring out of her stomach. She was crying bloody tears. She was smiling at me though. Her reptilian eyes were watching me.

"Hauuuuu," she moaned. "Keiichi-kun's head is so cuuuuuute…"

My neck was itching again. I was scratching at it hard.

"….I want to take it home with meeeeeee….!" She raised high the hatchet that was in her hands.

I was tearing at my neck. The itching wouldn't stop. I felt my skin peel.

She swung it down.

* * *

Okinomiya Precinct

Akasaka Mamoru (Case File XXXX)

On the night of July XX, two residents of Hinamizawa village, Shishibone City, went missing. These residents were Furude Rika and Houjou Satoko. They were found dead on July XX, in a secret tunnel hidden beneath the Sonozaki head house located in Hinamizawa. Furude was stabbed by some type of blade on the side of her head. Death was instantaneous. Houjou suffered multiple cuts before being stabbed through the forehead. The murder weapon has not been found.

On July XX, two residents of Hinamizawa village, Shishibone City, were found dead. These residents were Sonozaki Mion and Sonozaki Shion. Sonozaki Mion was found dead in a torture chamber beneath the Sonozaki head house located in Hinamizawa. She suffered multiple cuts before being stabbed through the heart with some type of blade. It presumed that this weapon maybe the same weapon that killed Furude Rika and Houjou Satoko. The weapon is still missing.

Evidence suggests that Sonozaki Mion murdered Furude Rika and Houjou Satoko as their corpses were found on her family's property. They do not appear to be planted at all. It is believed that she was the one who murdered them. It is also notes that she threatened the life of another resident of Hinamizawa before her death. Proof has not come forward that exonerates Sonozaki.

Sonozaki Shion was found dead in the Sonozaki head house. She was beaten to death by a wooden sword. She had tried to kill another resident of Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi. He slew her in self-defense.

On the day of July XX, a resident of Hinamizawa village, Shishibone city, was found dead. The resident was Ryuugu Rena. She had fallen from the suspension bridge near the Furude family temple. Death was instantaneous. A source from Hinamizawa claims she was trying to murder someone in the village. There is no evidence to prove this.

On the same day, July XX, another resident was found dead. This resident was Maebara Keiichi. He was found in the Irie Clinic in the morning. He committed suicide by clawing out his own throat. Any relation to previous deaths, except the case for Sonozaki Shion, is unknown. This case will be further investigated.


	6. Cast Review Session SPOILER ALERT

Cast Review Session

Satoko: What the hell was that all about! That story was awful! 161 pages and over 44,000 words for that garbage?

Rika: Mii~…

Satoko: All that crap we've been through, all for nothing! Who wrote this anyhow! And what's with that ending! It was horrible! Nothing was solved and everybody died!

Rena: Hauuu! Satoko-chan's so cute when she's angry! I'm taking her home with me! [Tries to grab Satoko]

Satoko: And why did I have to die in the very beginning! I barely had any lines!

Rika: …I died too…again.

Rena: [Trying to comfort Satoko] Um…well…I'm sure there was a good reason for that…

Satoko: [Folds her arms and huffs] What a waste! And Rena was the killer too! She was so creepy!

Rena: Hauuu…I didn't know I could be so scary…

Mion: You think you had it bad? Try being framed! I was hinted to be the killer until the very end! I don't kill people!

Hanyuu: Au~ au~! I didn't even make an appearance at all!

Rika: Maybe in the next one you will!

Hanyuu: [Wipes small tears from her eyes and pouts] I hope so…

Satoko: Whoa! There's gonna be another one!

Rena: [Nods happily] Uh-huh! Keiichi-kun's working on it right now!

Shion: I better have a better role in this next one!

Mion: What are you talking about? You had more page time than I did! You even got to do some cool scenes!

Shion: I especially got to share a wonderful kiss with Kei-chan! Ahaha!

Mion: [Sweating] W-We-We don't talk about that!

Shion: Oh no! Poor Sis didn't get to take a bite out of the fish!

Mion: [Angrily] What's that supposed to mean!

Rena: Um…shouldn't we be talking about what happened in the episode?

Mion: Huh? Sure, why not? Who wants to discuss first?

Satoko: [Raises hand] I do! I for one think this episode was WAY too crazy! What's up with the déjà vu motif? I got so confused with that! I thought we made it out into a peaceful world! Why do Keiichi-san, Nee-nee, and Rena have all of those recalls from the previous worlds?

Hanyuu: Well that's very simple! You see-

Rika: [Covers Hanyuu's mouth] Don't spoil it for everybody!

Hanyuu: But I know the answer! I have to answer Satoko's question!

Rika: [Serious] If you do I'll eat nothing but spicy food and drink sake all week!

Hanyuu: [Silent, but has a hard time controlling herself] Au~…

Mion: Well, that wasn't suspicious at all!

Rena: Um, I think I know the answer to Satoko's question. I think it has to do with those familiar situations we were in. I think we remembered those events not only because how similar they were, but because something was trying to tell us to avoid making the same mistakes we did in the past. Kind of like what happened last time! That way, we would learn from the past and make a better future! If we avoid making those mistakes, we could have a happier world!

Satoko: I…I guess that makes sense…but nobody learned from them! Everybody made those same mistakes again.

Shion: True, but now we know for next time!

Mion: I don't think so! Uncle Mion's got it all figured out!

Shion: Oh really? Enlighten us.

Mion: You see: in the world where we got our happy ending, none of those events ever occurred. However, when an event came along that matched the events of the previous worlds, you guys remembered them, right? But that's not enough. It's good that you guys remembered them, but as Satoko said, you didn't learn from them that much, maybe you even forgotten their messages. Remembering isn't enough. You have to have the willpower to overcome your inner demons to make sure you don't make the same mistake twice! If you don't defeat that demon, you'll ultimately lose. Maybe this story has to do with facing an emotional/psychological demon, rather than a physical one! That's called growing up!

Shion: …I see…

Satoko: But Keiichi-san said he grew up, but he was just as guilty as Nee-nee and Rena!

Mion: That's right. So I guess Kei-chan still has some growing up to do, despite the progress he's made! Ahaha!

Rena: I'm not sure it's just about facing inner demons. Something may be behind everything, pulling the strings like last time. There can be a physical demon out there somewhere. We can't know for sure unless we keep going.

Satoko: Okay. So what Mion means is that Rena, Nee-nee, and Keiichi-san have to grow up so we can live happily?

Mion: It's just a theory, but maybe.

Satoko: I'm still confused, but maybe I'll figure it out eventually. Moving on: the theme of love kept popping up in here quite a bit. I found it kind of annoying! I didn't get it at all!

Rika: [Frowns] That mushy crap is really starting to tick me off…

Rena: Hauuuuuuu…. [Blushes]

Shion: When you're older I'm sure you'll get it, Satoko! I would talk about it here, but that would only jack up the age rating on this story!

Mion: [Glares at Shion]

Shion: Whatsamatter, Sis? You didn't get to be all over Kei-chan like you wanted?

Mion: [Raises fist]

Rena: [Covers her face] Hauuuu! Taking a bite out of the fish…!

Shion: Rena gets it!

Satoko: Whatever. Next: what was with that rash on Keiichi's neck? Every chapter was him scratching at it! That's so gross!

Shion: That wasn't my fault, I can tell you that!

Mion: It is and you know it!

Hanyuu: I know the answer!

Rika: I told you to be quiet…! Don't ruin it for anybody…!

Hanyuu: Auu~…

Rena: I think it was just a regular rash that got worse because he kept scratching at it. He was told not to do so, but he got so nervous about the murders that he couldn't help it!

Mion: I think aliens came down and infected Shion's hand, thus infecting Kei-chan when she choked him!

Rena: [Taken aback] Aliens!

Satoko: Somehow I don't buy that…

Shion: Aliens, Sis? Really?

Mion: Hey, I don't see you bringing anything to the table!

Shion: Well, I think Kei-chan was sick with something. I think something infected the cuts I gave him. The bacteria from that plus his constant scratching irritated it. That's why it got so bad. I think that's why he ended up killing himself to stop the pain. He had a virus and it got so bad that he had to claw his throat out to end the painful sensation.

Rena: That sounds familiar to me somehow…

Takano: It certainly sounds familiar to me! Hehehe!

Mion: Wha-! Where did you come from!

Takano: The back door was open so I walked in. But yes, that rash does seem very familiar…

Rena: Do you know what it is, then?

Takano: I have a pretty good idea, but I wouldn't want to scare anybody…hehehe…

Rika: …You thrive on scaring people.

Takano: Do I? I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about!

Shion: What do you know about the rash on Kei-chan's neck?

Takano: I don't think I should say. Why don't you just find it off of Wikipedia?

Shion: What the hell is that?

Takano: Hehehe.

Rena: This isn't helping…

Satoko: Yeah! You're wasting precious text space! Now get off the page!

Takano: Fine, I will. But you should be careful: **I** may be in the next episode! Hehehe! [Leaves]

Hanyuu: I hate her so much!

Rika: I think we all do.

Satoko: So going on to the next question: what's the next episode going to be about?

Hanyuu: [Jumping up and down] I KNOW THE ANSWER!

Rika: That's it! [Stomps off]

Hanyuu: Rika? Where are you going? [Suddenly grabs at her throat and begins to roll about on the floor] Gah! Ghack! Argh! It burns! It hurts! *Coughs* You're so cruel…

Rena: Rika's being very irritable lately!

Rika: [Comes back] That was tasty! Nipa~!

Hanyuu: [Lies on her back with swirls in her eyes]

Rena: I'm not really sure what the next one's gonna be about.

Mion: Kei-chan's working on it now, isn't he? Let's call him up and ask him!

[The girls grab a phone and dial Keiichi's home number. Dial tone]

_Keiichi: Hello?_

Mion: Kei-chan! How goes the next episode?

_Keiichi: It's pretty good! Can't talk about the details right now, but there's gonna be a lot more content in it than before!_

Mion: Like what?

_Keiichi: The violence in this one is gonna be bloodier for one thing!_

Rena: More intense than this last one?

_Keiichi: Oh yeah! The rating is gonna be bumped up because of it!_

Shion: Is there going to be any more romance…? [Interested]

_Keiichi:Uhh…lemme see…looks like there might be some..._

Rika: [Frowns again]

Mion: Ahaha! I wonder who's gonna get the spotlight this time?

_Keiichi: I think you'd be surprised._

Mion: Really?

_Keiichi: Yeah. Again, I can't say much, but I think you guys will like the way it turns out!_

Mion: Uh-huh…

_Keiichi: Anyway, I got finish looking it over. Hope you guys are ready for this!_

[Hang up]

Mion: More bloody than last time?

Shion: More romantic? [Snickers] Sis is gonna be so jealous!

Mion: Shut up, Shion!

Rena: Ahaha! I wonder what's going to happen this time! I wonder!

Satoko: I better not die in the first chapter…

Hanyuu: [Rises from the floor] Au~! This should be interesting!

Rika: [Dark smile] I can't wait…

Rena: Please look forward to the next episode in the new series. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kan: Keiyodoshi hen (The Treacherous Chapter)! Hope to see you soon!

(Thanks to all who read my story! I appreciate all your comments! You gave me some great ideas and those comments really motivated me! I hope you guys check out my future projects! I need all the help I can get! ^_^ Thanks again!

~WOLFEDEN)


End file.
